Jaune's Epic Journey: Mantle of Heroism
by badliar 2312
Summary: After experiencing a tragic event in his childhood, Jaune Arc wanted to become strong. He succeeded, perhaps TOO successful, but he did it. After traveling the world for years to use his incredible strength for good, Jaune Arc, 18 years old, will embark on a new journey, started by a fateful meeting with one Cinder Fall... (AU, 1-year-older-Jaune, pseudo-crossover elements)
1. Knight in Shining Aura

**Disclaimer:** I don't own RWBY and its characters, Rooster Teeth does.

* * *

 **Foreword:** So, I've chosen the world of RWBY to be my new playground, which is quite exciting for me. This foreword will be quick, as it is only to tell you that this fic is inspired by and took some elements from three separate anime series, all three of which are massively popular in and out of Japan, with two of the three also being franchises that are either both popular and influential in anime culture.

Anyway, other than that, expect different development of events and some elements compared to the canon world of RWBY, it is an AU after all, and that's all from me, let's get on with the story!

* * *

Amongst the dead he wandered listlessly. His eyes were devoid of life, as if mirroring the state of his surroundings. His expression was blank, as if he had been robbed of the ability to feel and with the posture of a man walking towards his execution, the small boy kept on going, uncaring and yet also unyielding.

Despite being as lost as he was, it was as if something was pushing him to keep on walking. Against common sense and sense of preservation, defying the darkness that surrounded him, the boy continued to walk, trampling the dead as he did so as if they were dirt.

Such was the figure that remained in the hellish landscape. Surrounding him was the remains of what was once a lively village, one that no longer resembled anything of the sort with the ruins of buildings, streets soaked with blood and dirtied with the black remains of the dark creature known as Grimm.

The boy didn't know how long he had been walking, only that he had nothing else to do. He felt the need to walk, perhaps to get away from this place? To find whoever it was who caused this to happen? He didn't know, and perhaps he had no idea what he _should_ do in the first place.

He kept on walking, and as seconds passed by, his steps began to slow as it felt heavier and heavier, a sign of fatigue that began to engulf him whole.

One step... Two steps... Three steps...

He persevered. There was a sense of necessity in his gait despite the fact that it was clear he's lost. Admirable, especially considering how terribly, tragically young the boy was. But in the end, his body gave in as he sank to his knees, and then his upper body began to follow suit on its path towards the ground...

What saved him from having his head hit the ground was a pair of hands, and faintly, he could make out what the owner of the hands was saying...

"...Jaune! Tha... ness! ...kay, I'm here..."

Almost as if it were a wisp that would escape his grasp, he faintly recognized the voice of the man who spoke. '...Father?' he wondered, as if his memory of the man had been forgotten until that moment, yet before he could ask, his mind began to grow fuzzy...

And then darkness engulfed his vision.

* * *

 **Knight in Shining Aura**

* * *

Waking up from a light slumber was like stepping into the outside world after being cooped up inside for a sufficiently long enough time. There was no drowsiness nor disorientation, merely a realization that one has been sleeping for long enough and needed to get up.

When his blue eyes opened, he still vividly remember that memory of what happened thirteen years ago. Ever since that day, nothing escaped from his memory, yet sadly that did not hold true for what his life before that time.

Then again, many people did not have any memories of their life before the age of 5 as well, so he supposed he should not be too saddened, if at all, by that fact. He was hardly unique in that regard after all.

As he rubbed his unkempt blond hair that reached to the base of his neck, he sat up on the bed that he had rented for the night. He had spent the night on an inn after finishing a 'mission' of exterminating Grimm, the dark creature that had preyed on humans since the beginning of history. Yesterday, another group of Grimm is vanquished, and another community of people had been saved with no casualties.

It was a victorious day... But it won't be the last, and neither will he stop moving. He had earned the reputation of being a Wandering Huntsman, the moniker given to Huntsmen who hunted Grimm all across the world of Remnant without caring if the exterminations were approved missions or not.

What was the reward for this particular mission he had done? The answer would be the very bed that he stepped off of to go to the bathroom to prepare for the day. It was given to him for free, along with the dinner of the previous night, the breakfast this morning and the lunch... _If_ he had any intention of staying past morning.

Yes, he possessed no money and was basically a homeless nomad, but one Jaune Arc cared not for those things, not when he could be out here, making a difference by helping people any way he can, and one way to do so, in fact, one of the most straightforward and most to-the-point way was to kill Grimm whenever and wherever possible.

The naked form of the showering 18 years old young man whose stature was as tall and dignified as any high-tier, well-seasoned fabled warrior should be, showed the testament of his experience, skills and strength, of the dense and yet also thick strands of muscles that bulged beneath his fair skin which showed the scars of what were once wounds from the battles that he had won.

What drove such a man to become so dedicated in the pursuit of hunting Grimm? What was the impetus that guided his hands to become one of the most prolific, if not proficient, yet also mostly unknown, Wandering Huntsman in recent history?

It was the idea that culling the Grimm population all around the world will help a lot of people in the long run. In so many regards, he was right to assume this: Grimm population outnumbered humans by virtue of them possessing more territories than humans' do. Hell, even the oceans' depths were presumed by the people to be the place where the truly gigantic Grimm dwell.

For that reason, he chose to travel the world, doing the best he can, improving himself while he did so, and hopefully creating a better world in his wake. He had heard other people saying that he was far too altruistic to actually be true in his reasoning, others said that he was a real-life samaritan figure, genuine in his desire to help.

On his part, Jaune simply didn't care. As long as he did something good for others, either direct or indirectly, he would be content.

Having finished his shower, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed young man now clothed himself with a sleeveless white t-shirt beneath a dark blue hooded long coat that fell a centimeter shy of touching his ankles, a pair of black combat trousers with quite a number of pouches in addition to pockets that is also integrated with a lightly plated black combat boots.

Covering his hands were a pair of black leather gloves, which he stretched by making and unmaking a fist continuously for a couple of seconds. Then with the in-built belt around the waist part of his coat, he tied it while leaving it unbuttoned, showing parts of his white t-shirt and the well-muscled chest beneath it. "...Right." he said out loud with a nod as he exited the inn and quickly go downstairs.

"Ah, there's the hero of the day!"

Greeted by the lively master of the inn along with several patrons who were coming to get breakfast from the small restaurant below the inn, Jaune simply smiled as he nodded, "Good morning." He greeted back with a nod.

"And what a _good_ morning it is, thanks to you!" the rather portly man with thick beard exclaimed as he wiped one of the tables, "There anything you want? It's on the house!" he offered, a service appropriate for a hero.

"I'll be fine with a loaf of bread. I need to move soon after all." He said to the man, thankful but did not want to take any advantage of him.

"Aw, don't be like that lad." Said the portly man before his smile became even wider, "You're our hero after all, so you deserve to be treated like one. Tell you what, sit yourself down while we prepare a hearty meal for you. And don't give us a 'no' for an answer." He warned, "You've done much for us, and it's only fair that we do what we can to aid you in any way. Now no offense, but sit down and take this gift."

Facing such opposition, how could anyone do anything but back down? With a small, grateful smile, Jaune simply nodded and took a seat nearby.

It was a nice feeling, receiving smiles like that. He certainly remembered how his parents had been when he woke up after what happened that terrible day. When he woke up, the first face he saw was that of his mother, smiling widely with tears in her eyes at the sight of him being conscious again. Then came his father, and he mirrored his wife's face at the sight of him.

The sight never failed to brighten his day, and though he did not want to impose, the fact was that his host was more than willing to provide him sustenance, and it would be extremely discourteous to refuse, and so he accepted.

It was quite the breakfast: A couple of scrambled eggs, some fried bacon along with sausages completed with a pair of mini-sized pancakes with maple syrup and to top it off, there was also a banana served along with the dish. Certainly it was a breakfast appropriate for those who anticipated a long day coming.

"H-here you go sir." Said the waitress who gave it to him with her cheeks burning hot at the sight of him.

He nodded and gave her a thankful smile, "Thank you."

The young girl whose brown hair was styled to a bun simply nodded before she said; "I-if there's anything else you want, please call for me. I-it's on the house." Then, as if she was being called to another table, she left.

Jaune did not seem to notice the telltale of attraction the waitress was exhibiting, but what he did was to graciously and with gratitude eat the plate filled with food that had been given to him free of charge. To do otherwise would be the peak of impoliteness after all.

After finishing his hearty breakfast, he bid his goodbye to the host and the small community before he left, fully intent to wander the earth again, looking for people to help or Grimm to eradicate, two sides of the same coin really, always inclusive to the other for the latter but at times exclusive from the other in regards to the former.

There were lots of ways to help people after all, sometimes it required him to gather supplies, escort said supplies, heal people, solve criminal issues, and other times involved him killing Grimm. Whichever one he did contributed to the well-being of others, and thus, fulfilling his innermost desire.

Yes. Desire. It was almost to the point of compulsory to him, but in the end, he did all of this, training as if he were a man possessed since the age of five, leaving his comfortable home at the age of eleven to wander the world for seven years, all for the sake of fulfilling his desire to help as much as he can, whenever and wherever he can.

Noble perhaps, but also foolish. If he weren't strong enough in physique, mentality and spirit to handle such heavy burden he chose to lift by himself, he would've fallen under its enormous weight. And if he weren't resourceful enough to help in other ways besides combating the ever present darkness that was the Grimm, he would've been nothing but a vagabond pseudo-Huntsman.

Still, because he _made sure_ that he became strong and resourceful enough, such noble foolishness became easy for him to bear. Never in the thirteen years since that day had he been easy on himself, and it yielded its results.

Driven by such a lack of concern for oneself compared to how much he cared for others, that sentence defined his life-long passion project for quite long enough that he had decided to wear it as a badge of honor and never once hiding the fact that he really did not care much about himself.

So as he walked, Jaune contemplated. Where will he go next this time? He has visited almost every corner of Remnant at least once on the course of his life, and he did so by feet, either along the established paths or the unpaved way in the wilderness.

At times when he was not sure or when he lacked any information about known communities that required help, he would just wander. It was at times such as these that he would encounter Grimms as well, so even when he was aimless and lacking an intended destination he could do something that would, in the end, contributed to something good.

Through the woods of tall trees he walked. The first time he ever decided to wander, he would face Grimms by the dozens per ten meters. Now, it seemed as if they had gone and secluded themselves wherever he went. 'If one wants to hunt for Grimm, all they need to do is to step into the wilderness', such was the saying, and for a time, it had been true for him.

One hour passed since he entered the forest... Then it became two, and Jaune Arc found his mind beginning to wander as well.

His thoughts as of recently always wandered towards his family that he had left behind long ago, with the only thing that let them knew of what happened was a page of paper he taped onto the back of his closet in case his parents or his seven sisters were chose to scour his abandoned room to find a clue as to why he left.

He knew that they wouldn't be completely on board with what he had decided to do, nor would they be completely happy with his decision. He supposed that on some level, his parents and some of his sisters would understand, but nonetheless would've forced him to stay if he ever talked about it with them, and so he took away the choice from their hands.

Like many other people, once everything in his life had gone quieter, his mind began to cast its sight unto himself. What he did was, to be put concisely, shitty, but then again, it was a path that he had chosen, and he was not unaware that all choices came with their own consequences, even back when he was still eleven years old.

Jaune did not regret leaving, but never did he think that his family would be content with what he had done. Such thoughts plagued his mind in these moments of peace, but even if there was a desire in him to come back, the desire to use what he's capable of for good was much stronger.

He needed a welcome distraction. If he were to entertain these thoughts further, it would no doubt cause him to spiral down like it often did before he had to steel himself out of his own volition and willpower.

It came in the form of a commotion he heard nearby. An encampment, a massive one that housed almost a hundred people located not too far east of his position. Swiftly he jumped up the branches above and leaped from one of them to the other towards the direction of the encampment he heard.

On a tree branch closest to a steep cliff, Jaune watched the encampment being so preoccupied with activity. With his blue eyes gazing into the distance, he saw that all of them, without exception, were faunus in varying types that seem to encompass all category, mammalian, reptilian, even avian, and all of them were also, without exception, armed.

A faunus encampment that seemed to be filled with armed-to-the-teeth members in the middle of nowhere? Even if there were no banner to indicate the group they belonged to, Jaune knew enough to identify them as the White Fang, the very well-known faunus terrorist group.

Their presence called for a wait-and-observe tactic. After sensing no traps nor scouts near him, Jaune sat down on that branch and began his observation.

* * *

 _Many hours later..._

In a very late afternoon, a trio of humans left the White Fang encampment after a deal that had collapsed minutes ago. Two women and one man, the leader being one of the women, the one with fair skin, black hair, golden-shaded eyes and clad in red and black ensemble. The other girl was green-haired, red eyes dark-skinned and clad in white and green while the man was, though still young, gray-haired, grey-eyed and clad in dreary colors of black and grey.

Out of the three their leader seemed to be much older in age while the other two looked at least in their late teenage years. As the two walked behind the woman in red-and-black, they found themselves conversing with one another.

"Really, Merc? You _just_ had to pick a fight with one of them, didn't you? You could've had ruined the whole thing thanks to that." Said the one with green hair, calling her peer by the nickname 'Merc'.

"Of course I didn't Em." Said Merc, identifying the green-haired girl as 'Em', "The deal was falling apart anyway, it's all part of the plan, don't you know?"

Em's eyes narrowed, "Sounds like you and Mistress Fall knew about it and left me in the dark. Which is funny, considering that you're not really her equal." She said with a vicious smirk on her face.

Merc had an offended look on his face as he said; "Hey, I'll have you know that-"

"Children." Said the leader without turning her head to look at them yet her voice compelled them enough to stand up straighter, "For the sake of getting to the point, Mercury was simply assuming things." Em smugly smiled at Mercury, "One that happened to be true." The smile on Em's face was lost pretty quickly, "Still, Emerald was right... Do not think that you are even on the same ground as I am, Mercury."

"Y-yes Cinder Fall ma'am." Mercury said as both he and Emerald instinctively lowered their heads.

There was a moment of silence as the three continued on their way on foot for a good ten minutes before their leader Cinder suddenly stopped. "Emerald, did you not sense them?" she asked.

"H-huh?"

"Did you not sense our tail? Did you, Mercury?" she asked the young man next.

"A tail?" he looked around to find nothing that his keen eyes and senses could catch. "I-I don't see anybody Mistress Fall."

"It's because they are watching us from very far away..." answered Cinder as she gazed her narrowed fiery golden eyes at a certain location far behind them, "Normally, they would not be detected, but there's something to his presence that alarmed me... Move fas-"

They heard a far-off noise that sounded as if two massive boulders hit one another at terminal velocity and broke each other apart. Then something landed in front of them, causing a large amount of dust and dirt to be carried by the wind of the force that the object had exerted and hit them.

All three of them shielded their eyes for a few seconds before they managed to see who it was that had intercepted them, and what they saw was a young man clad in blue and black looking at them with narrowed blue eyes that seemed to have the ability to pierce through their souls. "You felt my presence from so far away." He addressed Cinder, "Impressive."

Looking at the man in front of her, Cinder couldn't help but to find him an enigma. One that her instincts tell her to be extremely careful with or else she would end up dead or worse. "And you are our tail... Pray tell, who are you?" she asked the young man.

"Someone who wants to ask questions." He introduced himself without giving out his name, "For some reason, I can't help but think that you guys are even worse than the guys you met back there. Call it my instincts acting up, but it always did me right many times before. Who are you people and why were you meeting with the White Fang?"

A wicked smile formed on her lips as she subtly signaled Emerald to activate her Semblance, "Why should we tell you?" she asked.

She saw that he was then hit by Emerald's illusion. Obviously she was showing him what he wanted to see, hear and feel, whatever that might be, and as such, she then signaled Mercury to pre-emptively attack him.

As Mercury quickly approached him however, Cinder realized something was off. He was just... standing there, not answering her previous question nor did he move or act as if he was in his own little world in any way. Something was up, but she couldn't tell what it was until it was too late.

Mercury activated the blade he had on one of his prosthetic legs and jump-kicked his way with his bladed right foot directed at the man's neck. Midway, Cinder finally realized what was up and couldn't help but to yell out, "He's not-!"

Mercury saw as his feet was dodged when he was mere millimeters away from stabbing the guy in the neck. The guy simply tilted his neck to the left without even seeing him the whole time, and to pour salt into the wound, his foot was grabbed and the hand that held it squeezed shut until the pressure was more than enough to completely separate his prosthetic legs from knee-down.

'I-Impossible!' Mercury thought as he landed messily, skipping the ground several times as he lost his ability to balance himself out thanks to losing one of his legs. 'T-That prosthetic leg is made from steel! How strong is he?!'

Before he could pull himself up however, the man was already in front of him with one of his legs raised... And then with a firm stomp, his other leg and the ground where he rested it were destroyed as well. All the while, he never spoke and his eyes were still rather unfocused, showing that he was, somehow, still in Emerald's illusion.

Using his remaining functional limbs to try and get away, Mercury began to crawl on his chest with his hands... Before his back was stomped on by the man, eliciting a cry from the gray-haired young man as he felt the bones of his spine beginning to crack under pressure.

"Illusion, huh?" uttered the young man before he looked up, as if directing the question to the skies above, "I _would_ say I'm sorry, but then again you caught me unaware. If I had the chance, I would've warned you that it would only make things worse for you."

With a burst of light, a rather ghostly construct materialized on his back, shining quite brightly despite its partial transparency. It was a white cape that would've touched the ground if it weren't billowing against the non-existent wind. "When faced with something that numbs or manipulates any of my senses, I tend to go over the top once attacked. I've learned to restrain myself over the years but..."

The sound of crunching bones made Emerald wince and Mercury's scream did not help matters. "I _really_ hope that I did not kill you with that." Said the man with the ghostly white cape that was still billowing despite the lack of wind, "Just need to make sure you stay down, whoever you are." Which he made certain with a final push of his foot that made Mercury slack and motionless.

Seeing the prone form of Mercury struck immense fear in Emerald's heart and cause her to release her hold over the man. Even if it meant that he would now see them, perhaps he would not be as ruthless to them, that was her hope.

Now that he could see, he saw the prone form of Mercury and with a wince, he muttered, "Oh crap, I overdid it again... Hang on." He said before he knelt down and in one swift motion, pierced Mercury's back with the tips of five of his fingers, passing by his skin, flesh and muscles and touched his spine before sending a blast of visible white Aura that was channeled from him to Mercury.

Mercury took a deep breath before his body convulsed and he screamed again, conveying how painful it was. "Relax, I'm healing you. Broken spine isn't exactly easy to heal." He chided Mercury who simply continued to scream until he finally pulled his fingers out, the holes quickly closing with a sick, fleshy sound of the regeneration and Mercury fell unconscious once again due to the pain.

Mercury's mind simply couldn't cope with the trauma of being pulled back from the brink of death due to a healing process that was hellishly agonizing and decided to stop being awake for a while. A long, long while.

"Alright..." he then turned to the two seemingly petrified onlookers and said; "Now that I know you would go so far as to kill someone who you _think_ might be onto you, I'm even more curious." He cracked his knuckles as fire burned behind his blue eyes, "You have two choices here: go ahead and put me under illusion again, see where _that_ gets you, I won't weep afterwards, or you fight me to protect your secrets, lose and ends up under my mercy. I would've offered you a third choice, but it's clear now you won't take it. So, what's it gonna be?"

Cinder knew what the white cape represented. Being as involved in the underworld as she was, she knew that there had been news/rumors beginning from five years ago, about a warrior, a Good Samaritan type, that went out of his way to help people whenever he can and hunt Grimm all day every day.

The sole most remarkable trait that they knew of him was his billowing white cape. Strangely, this small detail about the Samaritan Warrior began only three years ago from a testimony made by people who saw his work from afar, of how easily he took on the old Grimm that were known for their endurance and win with ease.

And that didn't even cover the rumors about how some of the natural disasters that involved the death of many powerful Grimm can supposedly be linked to him, because apparently he was _that_ powerful.

She cursed her horrible luck in facing this very real threat now, lacking the necessary power to face him, the kind of threat that possessed enough power in his presence to make her, _her,_ Cinder Fall, afraid. Regarding him, her mistress simply had nothing to say to her, which also unnerved her. Facing an unknown like this, especially one that was _more_ dangerous when put under an illusion was tantamount to suicide.

However, at the same time, surrendering was not an option. Cinder Fall had a feeling that the man in front of her would see to her lies easily as he did with Emerald's illusions, and considering that she opted to quickly eliminate him also eliminated the third option, which was presumably a diplomatic one.

"One."

And he's counting up, presumably to three until he acted. She needed more time, damn it!

"Two."

"Emerald, run." She ordered her remaining ally who looked at her with concern, an unneeded one that she quickly reprimand her with, "Run and hide."

With a shaky nod, the green-haired woman left, leaving Cinder alone. Though facing him alone was no easier compared to the alternatives available, it was the only thing that she could do. At this point, Emerald was simply a liability as her illusion proved to be beneficial to their enemy so she must be discarded for the moment.

If she had timed it right however, she might be able to come back with some backup... She knew _her_ route, and she hoped that Emerald remembered it when she told them about it a couple of weeks ago. If not, then she might end up dead...

"Facing me alone?" asked the man before he simply nodded her way and began to approach her, "Alright then." He emphasized his willingness by smashing his right fist unto his opened left palm, creating a loud, reverberating shockwave that made her flinch.

Never had Cinder felt being out-menaced before and the man did that so easily as if it was second nature for him. She brought out her twin swords and steeled her visage so as to not show her fear at the thought of facing the man, even if he was not filled with intent to kill her outright.

Perhaps she could use that to her advantage...?

* * *

 _With Emerald..._

She had thought that Cinder Fall was terror incarnate wrapped in a beautiful packaging, a monster wearing a human skin, and the way she held her dominance over them was proof of that, but now she was proven wrong. Cinder, in front of that man, was simply a pretender playing a monster.

Oh she knew why she sent her away. Cinder Fall was not one to play the 'sacrificial lion' card, she was sent away to do a specific task, a task that she was desperate to complete. "Shit... shit shit shit shit shit...! How the fuck did I get into this mess?!" she felt useless after seeing her accomplice defeated so easily while still in her illusion.

'And he said that my illusion only made him _more_ dangerous?!' If it weren't true, she would've laughed at the rather cliche line, but after seeing Mercury crippled from the knee down and forced to go to sleep was more than enough of a wake-up call.

'I need to find her, I need to find her, she's gotta be near here!' was her desperate thought as she pushed herself to the limit.

Even though Cinder's loss or even death, would mean that she would be free free to go anywhere she wanted again, it didn't mean that she actually _had_ a place to go to without her, so she was stuck with the woman no matter what. 'C'mon, where's your target when you really wanted to see them?!'

After what seemed like hours of running, she finally heard what she wanted to hear... The sound of a trotting horse commanded by a woman, and the edges of her lips turned upwards into a wide smile. There might be a chance after all...!

* * *

 _With Cinder..._

Keeping one's distance against a much stronger enemy was a sound advice, no matter the circumstances. With her fighting style, Cinder had been trying to follow that advice the best she could, to pelt her enemy with her bow-blade while constantly moving further away from him as fast as she could.

Fortunately for her, he had no intention of killing her. Unfortunately for her, she proved to be far inferior in power for her to take advantage of that sentiment. "Tch!" she clicked her tongue at how fast he was gaining on her despite her moving as fast as she could from one branch to another.

'Unless you have overwhelming power, always use the environment to your advantage', an adage that she found to be an absolute truth in battle, was rendered into an empty platitude by experiencing what facing sheer overwhelming power felt like firsthand. The tall trees that were surrounding them proved to be worthless to provide her with some sort of support against the man with the billowing white cape.

She loathed the idea of being forced to run, hated it with all her being, and as such, she found no joy in doing what she needed to do to survive. Despite that, what she was facing now was a monster that scared her as her mistress does, and her feelings must never get in the way in regards to something such as this.

She withheld a curse as she narrowly dodged a fist heading her way and ended up pulverizing part of a tree. Despite his destructive strength, he followed through his threat with utter silence and unbreakable focus. If he was as cocky as he was strong, perhaps she would not be so unnerved! Such a demeanor from a man possessing such strength made her shiver in fear.

Like a blur, his hand was suddenly upon her neck, and it was thanks to cultivated reflex that she managed to avoid it and leaped backwards. 'Gh! He's so fast as well!' Rumor has it that he fought a herd of Griffon-type of Grimm that had been dormant before he came along and vanquished them in seconds. Being one of the fastest Grimm to have ever existed, to defeat them in such a short time should've made it clear that he would also be fast.

But the word 'seeing is believing' had been in full force. Just because she _heard_ it, doesn't mean it's true, it could've been an embellishment... Yet now that she saw it firsthand, embellishment it was not.

'Where are you, Emerald?!' she mentally demanded as if the young woman could've heard her. Rare of an occasion it was to see her so desperate, but considering the circumstance, even those who held themselves high with pride would be rendered to such a lowly degree.

He saw him coming for her again, and in response, she crossed her blades in front of her as she saw his blur getting closer by the millisecond. At the last moment however, she successfully dodged sideways. It was strange however. Despite their speed, he hasn't caught up to her once. What kind of game was he-?

Before she could complete that question, she felt a pair of arms encircling her waist from the back before she felt her body being pulled backwards as they began to fall, backwards, towards the ground.'Is he going to-?! Are you kidding m-?!'

"Suplex." She heard him whisper, and as she began to channel her aura to shield her head, she felt every part of her bones and muscle from the neck up crashing into the ground and creating a rather large crater as a result.

Darkness overtook her mind for a moment, but she was still willing to fight. Groggily, she began to regain her consciousness, and through the dark borders around her blurry sight, she saw the blue sky up above and groaned as she tried to move her body despite the protests that she got from her brain, muscles and bones.

Before her efforts could even bear fruit, she saw the silhouette of the caped man looming above her and crouching down so that they see eye-to-eye. _"Hey."_ To her ears, his voice sounded as if he was talking to her through a wall, but it was still audible. _"I know you can hear me. What was your business with the White Fang?"_

She would've retorted with a snark had she retained the capacity to do so. As it were however, she simply pooled all her energy to restore her cerebral functions to full power. However, even if she were to fully restore all her thinking capability, she would still be cornered. If Emerald didn't return with the backup soon...!

Then, when she heard the sound of a roaring flame hitting the white-caped man, she tried to form a smile... only to make a grimace due to the concussion still affecting her pretty badly. Hope has arrived!

* * *

 _With the Attacker..._

The fire didn't affect him. Of course, considering that she used it only to distract him from the downed woman, she didn't use much of her energy to fuel that attack to begin with, but even so, he should've at _least_ felt that!

Yet despite what should be, he remained unfazed. "Alright, that's new..." the woman with light brown skin, eyes and hair muttered as he turned to her with blue eyes that didn't convey anything related to anger, hate or... anything that could suggest the reason why he attacked the helpless travelers, "So this is the one who attacked you?" she asked the girl at her side.

"Y-yes." She heard her answer with fear, "P-Please do something, miss Amber."

"Don't worry, Emerald." Amber assured Emerald with a smile before she extended her staff and glared at the man with the white cape, "I'll take care of this, you go take your friend and run."

Amber's eyes began to glow fiery red as she twirled her staff and summoned the forces of nature in the form of a miniature storm directed at the man. Using it as a distraction, Emerald moved as quickly as she could towards her mistress, and when he moved to intercept her, he was stopped mid-way by a stray lightning bolt that struck the ground right in front of him.

"Hey! Your opponent is me!" yelled Amber as the red crystal on one of end of her staff glowed, "You leave them alone!" a volley of numerous fireballs was shot towards him and behind them was Amber, charging towards the white caped man.

With him being distracted, Emerald quickly went towards Cinder and began to carry her, only to be stopped when Cinder squeezed Emerald's wrist, "Don't...! When the time is right, trap them in your illusion...! If you do it right, we'll get what we came here for!" she furiously whispered, still affected by the concussion but full of vigor.

A retort was ready to come out of Emerald's mouth, but she withheld it and opted to direct her eyes to the battle that was happening. She saw how Amber, their target, was handling the blonde man with the powers of the Fall Maiden in her hands, and found herself succumbing to both awe and fear at the sight of what was happening.

When he was fighting against them, their loss could've been justified due to their lack of power. However, Amber was on a different level compared to them for she was a Maiden, a human possessing honest-to-Oum Magic which, in her case, allowed her control over parts of nature such as fire, lightning and wind.

To put it quite simply, Amber was a force of nature on her own. Against her in direct combat, no normal humans could even hope to match her. However, what Emerald and Cinder were seeing proved that the man they fought was not normal by any definition of the word.

He was fighting against a representation of a force of nature, against someone who could command Magic instead of pale mimicry of it through Dusts and Aura, and was holding his ground with barely making it as an effort on his part.

Lightning came down on him and though it ended up with his body steaming due to the heat it carried, he was fine as he stood his ground. Fireballs the size of basketballs were shot at him and when he was hit, they made decent explosions that created craters where he stood yet he remained unfazed. Wind fast enough to make a person go deaf and cut through their skin hit him yet he acted as if it was a cool breeze on a summer's day.

Unlike before, he just stood there, immovable, unyielding.

The hope that Emerald had when she brought Amber to fight the caped man was slowly being extinguished by how nonchalant the man was against the barrage of attacks given to him. However, confusion was also present in her mind as despite the fact that he was unhurt, he was not willing to fight her.

"Kh!" the fire surrounding her eyes died down as she took a couple more steps backward. 'This guy... he's not normal! No wonder those two can't defend themselves against him!' She cast her concerned gaze over to the two women who were now watching from the sidelines. 'Still... why aren't they running away?'

"Are you wondering why they're not running away?"

"Eh?" she couldn't help but to mouth out at the sudden question. "H-how did you-" she stopped herself from asking if he could read her mind before she narrowed her eyes at him, "Are you still going to hurt them? You know that I can't let that happen." She said as she prepared herself to fight again.

"Out of good faith, I assume?" he asked before he put his hands into the pocket of his combat pants, "Look at them. Aren't you a bit curious about them? Do they look at all innocent to you?" he asked.

She looked at them again and _could_ see what he was talking about. Both of them had the bearing of a fighter, more than that, both of them had that look in their eyes that she had seen before from those who were... of the unsavory type.

However, she shook her head and said; "That doesn't matter. Emerald came running to me desperate for help, and after seeing what you did to the other woman, the one's clearly in the wrong here is _you_." Amber then began channeling her Aura to her staff again and said; "Whoever they are, I won't turn down anyone asking for help simply because they _look_ suspicious."

Her answer was met with silence and a lack of reaction that lasted for a few seconds before she said with a slight blush on her face, "H-hmph, you must think I'm an idiot or something." She muttered.

To her surprise, he responded with a warm smile and said; "You _are_ an idiot." She flinched at the answer that was given and her glare intensified, "But one that I can respect somewhat." Her gaze softened at that unexpected addendum, "I guess I should tell you then, they're not innocents, they are linked to-"

"Emerald, now...!" whispered Cinder before Emerald activated her Semblance and with great effort, forcing the two into an illusion. Jaune stopped talking while Amber frowned at how Jaune who was in her line of sight seemed to stop mid-sentence. Emerald could not finely control her Semblance at this point, considering that she was using it on two people, but she hoped it was enough.

Cinder, who had recuperated enough to think clearly and move, stood up and walked as quickly and quietly as she could towards Amber with a sick smile on her face. 'Foolish girl... In my hands, the power you possess will be capable of fighting this damn Samaritan...' she thought as she channeled her Aura to the glove she wore on her right arm, causing intricate glowing symbols to appear on its surface.

Cinder was closing in on Amber, to reach the proximity where her hands could easily touch her, and then when she was right in front of her, she began to extend her right hand towards the Maiden, 'Stay still... this will be over soon enough and everyone but you will come out unscathed...'

In her slightly delirious state due to the concussion she experienced before, she walked herself closer than what was necessary before she let out the creature residing within the glove. So certain she was that if she did not attack the man directly, he would not be able to do anything, she put his back towards him, disabling her from anticipating an attack...

The insect-like Grimm came out from the palm of her glove alongside tendrils of blackness that began to spread along her wrist. A worried frown marred her face, something was wrong with the tool, and she felt a sucking emptiness in her gut that filled her with doubt and fear. 'No, don't be ridiculous, she would never-'

As if capitalizing on the hesitance she exuded, the man she had turned her back to had somehow sensed her presence, grabbed her by the back of her neck and then threw her away from the Maiden with the same hand. Her shoulder and ribs hit the ground first before her back did, multiple times as she skidded against the ground, resisting the momentum of her impromptu flight and subsequent crash as she gritted her teeth in pain.

When she finally came to a stop, she looked at where the Maiden and the Samaritan were and found that they were still inside Emerald's illusion. It worked to calm her down, but not by much, 'Calm down! You can still do it...! You were too cocksure before, you need to be more-'

Her train of thoughts was stopped when she felt something slithering its way up her right arm. When she looked, she found her glove and her forearm was now completely covered by an expanding black goo with pulsing red veins that was coming out of the palm of her right hand.

It was at this moment that Cinder realized things was not going the way she wanted it to, shattering her confidence and brought about fear, 'No... No, no no no no no! Don-! Don't!' she internally screamed as she extended her forearm away from her head, as if that would help stall the slithering, encroaching black goo.

The black and red goo moved fast as it extended its mass to cover her whole right arm, her right shoulder, then it was coming to her face and belatedly, she realized how the fate that was supposed to befall the Maiden was being done to her instead, "S-Stop! STOP! NOOOO-!" her scream was cut off as the slithering goo reached her face.

Her opened mouth was filled and so was her throat, the next orifice to be assaulted was her nostrils as it penetrated them and then the goo came for her panic-filled eyes and covered them. Despite this however, her pleading was not muffled, as if it was coming through the goo's cells as it continued its process of engulfing Cinder's body.

Then, under the cover of darkness that she had unwittingly inflicted herself with, Cinder screamed on top of her lungs as her mind was next in line to be violated.

As if it was the cue that forced them out of their illusion, both Jaune and Amber turned towards where the scream originated and saw Cinder's form slowly being covered by the terrifying goo, "W-wha!" Amber was mortified by the sight, "What _is_ that?! How did it get here without-?!" she frantically looked around and saw no one else besides the caped man that she did not know and the woman being covered in the black goo, "Emerald?! Where are you?!"

As Jaune too looked over where Emerald was, said green-haired girl was already running away.

With tears falling down her red eyes and blood dripping down her nose, she ran as fast as she could to get away from everything, 'This isn't happening... This isn't happening...!' she thought, trying to deny what has happened. All was lost. Cinder failed to extract the Maiden's powers and somehow ended up being eaten by the very thing their plan was hinging on.

The only thing that she could do now, hell, the only thing that she knew best, the very first lesson she had learned when faced with a situation like this... was to run away. To run and never come back.

And so with that, Emerald Sustrai fled.

"What I was about to tell you before," Jaune said, prompting Amber to look at him, "is that they have connections to the White Fang. They're not good people, and I think I might've saved you from becoming _that_." He pointed to the writhing form of darkness that was once Cinder Fall.

"Saved me? What do you-?" she stopped as she was reminded of the strangeness that happened, "Wait... just a couple seconds ago, everything felt weird, like everything was... diluted in something, what was that?" she asked.

"That was an illusion. One of the two women has a Semblance that can play around with your senses, possibly it's that green-haired girl, Emerald." Jaune answered, "Luckily, I'm experienced enough to overcome something like that, and a few seconds ago, I sensed one of the two approaching you, so I acted. It seems that _she,_ " the one that was still screaming, "was about to attack you with something that backfired on her."

Amber's brown eyes were as wide as they were filled with fear and disbelief. "T-that... that could've been... me?" she spoke as she looked at the pitiful, nauseating form of one of the women she sought to help, "I... I can't believe it..." she cast her head down in disappointment and sadness. She trusted them, she even went as far as to help them and give them the benefit of the doubt and yet they were the ones who _really_ meant to harm her!

She felt his hand grasping her shoulder, "Hey." Said the blond man, "What matters now is that you're still here, alive and well. Right now, focus on something more important at hand." He then directed his gaze at the writhing mass of darkness and demonic red veins and Amber nodded with resolve.

"Right. Let's take care of this monstrosity." She spoke as she prepared her staff.

The barely humanoid mass of goo that used to be Cinder turned its 'head' towards them before its whole body spasmed violently. With an inhuman screech, it chose to do something that they didn't expect... It ran.

"Get back he-!"

Amber couldn't even finish her sentence as the blonde man was suddenly behind its retreating form and punched it, hard enough to create a reverberating effect that shattered the black blob and destroyed many parts of their surrounding area.

'H-he's fast too?!' Amber found herself shocked even more. 'To possess such durability and strength to exert his body at such a high level... I'm so glad he didn't fight back when we fought...!' she thought about how quickly the tables would turn if he just retaliate during their 'fight' and winced.

With a frown, Jaune focused on the splattered remains of the goo for a few seconds before he turned towards Amber and began to walk to her... And then stopped, turned back and saw that the splattered goo had largely disappeared. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the last remnant of it seeping into the ground.

His fists tightened, and for a moment he was tempted to hollow out the ground to hunt the goo, but now that it's come to this, there's no other way around it, and he didn't want to extensively damage the environment just to find them. He needed to let it go, at least for now.

Turning back towards the brown-haired woman, he called off the cape with a silent, mental command, extended his hand to her and said; "Amber, right? I heard that Emerald woman said your name before. Mine's Jaune Arc. It was a rather... bizarre circumstance that led us to meet, but anyway, it's nice to have cleared things up with you."

"Uh, s-same here..." Amber muttered as she accepted the gesture from the much taller man while still reeling from the show of power he did just moments ago. "A-and thank you. If it weren't for you, I would've ended up like... like that woman, whoever she was, or... Whatever it was that she wanted to do to me." She was then reminded of something that stopped her mind for a moment.

Flooding back into her mind as if freed from its containment now that things had calmed down was the memory of how she attacked him before, and she began to frantically apologize, "O-oh, and I'm _really_ sorry for attacking you back there! I-I just jumped in because that girl Emerald looked so scared and asked my help, so when I saw you and that other woman, I just... got ahead of myself when I should've asked." She deeply bowed down and said; "I'm truly sorry!"

"Hey, hey, it's alright." Assured Jaune as he made her straighten her back, "I wasn't hurt anyway." He said with a shrug, "And you were only trying to help. Misguided, but not malicious, so no need to beat yourself over it." He smiled at her again and said, "I respect that kind of tenacity. Even if it could've harmed someone innocent, your heart was in the right place. Just need to work on your diplomatic skills more."

"Heh, well, I... I was just trying my best to do good, s'all..." she scratched the back of her head in elation and slight embarrassment at his compliment and advice. Was she blushing too? She hoped not, it was embarrassing enough being told off _and_ complimented at the same time, "So, Jaune Arc huh...? I think I've heard your family name before... But you know, that cape thing you materialized, that was... Aura, right? But I've never seen it look so real before."

"It's kind of an acquired thing." Jaune answered with a shrug, clearly fully-intent on keeping it a secret.

"Really?" she asked with raised eyebrows, "So... is it... like my own, or something?" she asked in a quieter voice, as if afraid of asking the question itself. Now that the cape was no longer on his back, she could feel that some sort of pressure on her very being had been lifted.

"...I don't know." Jaune said as he crossed his arms, "What _was_ that thing you do back there with the burning eyes and nature manipulation?" he asked before he blinked and turned his gaze to what was behind her.

"I kinda wanna know that myself." said the one behind Amber, prompting her to look, and what she saw was a man with unkempt graying black hair and red eyes clad in grey, black and red armed with a compacted scythe on his back and a flask on his right hand, presumably filled with alcohol due to his audible slur, "Not about your thing, young lady, but about his. "

"Who are you?" Amber asked as she prepared herself for a fight.

"Me? Well, if you must know..." he shrugged before he took a swig from the flask, "Aaaah! That hits the spot... Anyway, my name's Qrow Branwen. Initially, I was here only for the young lady, but after seeing what you did, I'm kind of compelled to ask you to come along as well."

"Why? Who do you work for?" asked Jaune with narrowed eyes.

"Heh..." a smirk that conveyed exasperated amusement formed on the man's stubble-covered mouth, "Let's just say that he's a really _swell_ guy who'd definitely love to see you two safe and sound. In his basement that is."

There was a really awkward silence that lasted for a long while before the man Qrow said; "Right, well, that was a tasteless joke anyway, but serious talk: The guy I work with wants to meet you, young lady, and knowing what kind of guy he is, I'm willing to bet that he wants to talk to you too, young man." He said.

"Ah, now that makes more sense."

Jaune's remark was met with sweatdrop and a frowning pout on Qrow's part, "Don't blame a guy for trying to lighten up the mood..." he muttered under his breath, "Anyway... What do you say, huh? You can take along the horse and that unconscious guy I tied up as well."

Amber frowned at what the unkempt man said at the end, "Unconscious guy? What do you-"

"Oh you tied that guy up? Thanks." Jaune said, prompting Amber to look at him with questioning eyebrows, "Is he still alive?" he asked, wanting to confirm the man's condition.

"Yeah, but he's still unconscious. Even a couple of the good ol' wake-up slaps didn't do anything to him. What did you do to him, I didn't see any bruises on his body?" Qrow asked.

"Oh I cracked his spine with my foot and then healed it afterwards." Jaune answered so casually that Amber couldn't help but to wince at the mental image, "One of them put an illusion on me and that guy tried to attack me, so I reacted. To be fair, I _did_ heal him, even if it's agonizing as hell that he passed out from it."

'...Alright, he _definitely_ has to come along. A meeting between a Maiden of old and a newborn Legend? Ozpin _loves_ that kind of shit, might think it as some sort of destiny or something like that.' Qrow thought before he took another sip from the flask, 'Still, I'm _not_ gonna deal with this sober...'

* * *

 **To be Continued...**

* * *

 **Thank you for reading this, hopefully, you have enjoyed yourself in the process, and if so, please review, and I'll see you when I see you.**

 **P.S.: In regards to Jaune's voice, personally speaking, because of how much Jaune in this story is different than the one in canon RWBY in physique and demeanor, I imagine if** _ **this**_ **Jaune were to be voiced, it wouldn't be by Miles Luna (Jaune Arc's English VA). I'm thinking Troy Baker (Delsin Rowe from Infamous: Second Son/Male Protagonist Voice 1 of Saint's Row the Third and Saint's Row the Fourth/Booker DeWitt from Bioshock Infinite), his voice fits this Jaune in my opinion.**

 **Of course, I also thought about who would voice him in Japanese, canon Jaune's official Japanese VA, Hiro Shimono (Keima Katsuragi from The World God Only Knows/Connie Springer from Attack on Titan), is good, but... either Junichi Suwabe (Archer from Fate/Stay Night/Daiki Aomine from Kuroko's Basketball/Shouta Aizawa from My Hero Academia/) or Yuki Ono (Higashikata Josuke from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Diamond is Unbreakable/Masayuki Hori from Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun/Kagami Taiga from Kuroko's Basketball)'s average voice range would fit this Jaune more nicely.**


	2. Off to See the Wizard

**Alright, so many of you guys have figured out two of the pseudo-crossovers, that only leaves just one. This last one might not be too obvious, because instead of a blatant crossover, it's a more inspired one.**

 **One hint though: It has something to do with how Jaune is able to manifest a rather ghostly white cape out of nowhere, as if it was something that he let out of his soul.  
**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own RWBY, it belongs to Rooster Teeth and is created by the late Monty Oum.

* * *

"Thank goodness he's fine..."

The soft voice he heard as he woke up was something that he found familiar. It was his mother's voice, speaking to someone he didn't know. Slowly opening his eyes, what Jaune saw first was a white ceiling that he has never seen before.

"Indeed, physically speaking, the boy is miraculously fine. However, his mental state..."

The smell of disinfectant and sterile environment made him realize where he was. A hospital. The feeling of something being injected on his right wrist made him absolutely certain of his location.

"I know... My son, he... He must've seen so many terrible things there..."

He was alive, barely, but still breathing and was now awake and conscious, even if he was not completely lucid as of yet.

"Do you know any psychiatrist who can-?"

"I do. In the line of work that my husband and I do, it's a good investment to have... I just didn't expect that it would be for my son."

"Very well. I will leave you two alone."

He heard the faint sound of footsteps walking away and then a movement to his right made him turn, and he saw, through his somewhat blurry eyesight, his mother's braided long blonde hair and tearful green eyes as she gasped at the sight of him waking up.

"Jaune... You've woken up...!"she whispered breathlessly with a smile before she caressed his face gently, as if afraid that he will break, "Oh thank goodness..."

He needed to say something to her, this Jaune knew. Seeing the smiling yet tearful face of her mother's made him happy, but it reminded him of what had happened. He needed to say something to her, something that will stop the tears from falling down her eyes. His mother was crying, he needed to make it stop.

"I... I'm sorry." He barely heard his voice saying the two words, but he hoped it would stop her from crying. After all, it wasn't her fault that he ended up like this, it was his, completely his.

But what he did only made her weep even more as she hugged him close to her chest. In response, Jaune simply wrapped his arm around her shoulders and patted her back.

He didn't want her to cry. "I'm sorry."

"Oh hush...!" said his mother as she looked him in the eye, "Don't apologize, just... don't ever do it again, do you hear me?" she asked of him.

Another sound of frantic footsteps made them turn, and then he saw a familiar well-kept mop of blonde hair and blue eyes that belonged to his father, "Jaune!" he screamed as he approached them at top speed, "How are you feeling? Do you feel sick? Is any part of your body hurting? What's one plus one?"

He was stopped when his mother slapped his shoulder, and with a sheepish look, his father said; "Sorry, I was just... so worried about you." He said with slightly teary eyed and a smile full of relief. "Anyway, come here." He said as he then brought the three of them into a group hug.

Though comforted by the warmth, something didn't sit right with Jaune. The sight of their tear-filled eyes filled him with guilt and more so, the desire to make it right somehow.

But how...?

* * *

 **Off to See the Wizard**

* * *

When it was night time, a tavern within a settlement will always be filled with its patrons. It was a place where they would wind down after a hard day's work, gathered up with friends and/or colleagues and share a drink or two as the night grew older.

However, a tavern also had certain corners reserved for those who wished to have some privacy. These corners were usually dimly lit, away from the main door so that it didn't attract one's immediate attention, and much more separated from other tables.

On one of these tables sat Jaune, Qrow and Amber, all of them have just finished having their fill for dinner, paid for by the red-eyed man. "Right, I've contacted my employer, and he said that he'll meet us at five twenty miles east from here. So with that..." he trailed off as he looked for the clock on the wall near them, "We can get nine hours sleep at max, so, any one of you want to tuck in early?"

"I can get by with just four hours of sleep, but... I think I'm going to sleep earlier than usual, it's..." Amber sighed as she covered her eyes with her right palm, "It's been a _bizarre_ day with what happened."

After their encounter, Qrow told them to go to a nearby tavern while he carried off the unconscious silver-haired guy with pulverized prosthetic legs to get him... somewhere, he didn't tell them the exact details, but all he told them was that he was getting him to a place that he deserved.

It didn't take him long to get back, telling them that the guy's being dealt with and with everything said and done, Qrow told them that they now had a time to wind down for a bit and now here they were. After what had occurred and the fate she narrowly avoided, Amber needed a lot more time to rest.

"I get ya." Qrow stated simply but sympathetically before he turned to the one who introduced himself to him as Jaune Arc, "What about you, Mr. Knight in Shining Armor?"

"I can get by without any sleep, but I think I'll sleep late." He answered.

"Oh? Pray tell, what does someone like you want to find in the middle of the night?" Qrow asked as he leaned towards the man sitting across him and waggled his eyebrows, "Looking for some... nightly entertainment, maybe?" he asked with a lopsided smirk on his face.

"Ugh, must you be so crass all the time?" Amber asked with distaste before she looked at Jaune with inquistive, curious gaze, "Still... why do you want to sleep late?" she asked.

"I want to patrol the area for a while. I think I saw some Grimm on our way here, so I'm going to look for them." Jaune answered with his arms crossed.

"Geez, you never just _stop,_ do ya?" Qrow asked with a rather sad look in his red eyes, "Just relax, I mean, don't you know that recent studies have shown that Grimm presence has been steadily dropping down in recent years?" he pointedly asked with a gaze that seemed capable of piercing through one's soul, "Or have you been in The Wilds for too long that you've never even heard that news?"

"Even so, I knew what I saw, and I'm still going to do it. You're welcome to join, if you'd like?" he offered.

"Nah, do what you feel you gotta do." Qrow waved it off, "I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep... Right after another drink!" he called to one of the waitress, who nodded at his order, "Heh, so do you wanna go now, or...?"

Jaune's response was to raise the empty cup towards the same waitress and said; "I'll have another coffee first."

"Do they have something that'll help me sleep?" she asked, still rather jittery after seeing what _nearly_ became her fate a few hours ago.

"Lady, it's called _alcohol_." Qrow said as if it should be obvious to everybody before he whispered, "Look, being a Maiden has nothing to do about purity you know, you're _allowed_ to partake in such earthly wonders like good beer, so go ahead, order some! It's on me anyway."

The Maiden of the Fall breathed in deeply before expelling it out of her nose, "Fine, I'll have one beer..."

"Wonderful! Waitress, one more beer please!"

* * *

 _Later on..._

"Uuuuuuuuugh..." Amber heard herself groaning as she forced herself up from the bed she had been lying down on. "What time is it...?" she wondered before she tried to find a clock, or failing that, opening the window. However, judging by the lack of light piercing through the nearby window, she surmised that it was dark and groaned again.

Drinking beer had not been a good idea. She was a light-weight, quickly gotten herself drunk when she got carried away and egged on by Qrow, who, without Jaune's influence, encouraged her to drink as many as she could.

Actions breed consequences, and as such, she now found herself suffering from a massive hangover. "This is worse than any of the times I've woken up early..." At times, she hated having the capability to wake up early no matter how late she slept in, but this time, the hatred was burning hotter than usual. "Water... need water..."

With effort that could be said as Herculean, she lifted herself up from the bed and nursed her head. When she walked to and opened the door, she saw Jaune walking to the room across from hers, who said this when he saw her; "You woke up early. With a hangover too."

"Thanks for stating the obvious..." said Amber before she asked, "Did you _just_ got back?"

"I did. Wasn't as many Grimm as I thought, but enough that I extended the time for patroling." Jaune answered, "Do you need water?" he asked before he added, "I'll get it for you, just stay in your room."

"Thanks..." she said before she did what was told due to the sheer amount of agony her head was going through.

A glass of water and a cup of hangover cure minutes later, Amber could be seen sighing contentedly as she sat on the bed, "I think it's already working... Thanks, Jaune."

"You're welcome." Said Jaune as he began to leave.

"Wait." Amber called for him before she gestured to the nearby seat, "Can you... sit for a bit? There's no way I'm going to sleep again, considering that it's already ten minutes past four... And I'm kinda curious about you, so... let's talk?" she asked with a shrug.

His acknowledgement was not verbal, as he opted to sit on the gestured chair and leaned his back down slightly, conveying his willingness to listen. "So what do you want to know?"

"Well... I've heard about this Wandering Huntsman, one who was known for his white cape that made him look heroic, even if a bit overblown. No one knows who he is, no one can contact him because he always leaves whenever his job's done." She began, "Is that you? I mean, considering that's the only constant thing about your appearance and how you can just... materialize it out of nowhere, what is that by the way?"

With a small smirk, he asked back, "Which question should I answer first?"

"The first one first." Amber answered, "I _really_ have to know, I mean... Out of all the known Wandering Huntsman out there in The Wilds, the guy with the white cape has become something of a new legend. And considering my status as a... well, one of the old ones that is actually true, I really want to know."

She might be a bit hesitant, but it was clear that her curiosity won out the battle inside her. Amber was a Fall Maiden, this Jaune knew after a session of explanation that involved Qrow. Knowing that a fairy tale was actually a legend that has turned into a myth regarded as fiction was quite... eye-opening. Then, being an object of fascination by one of the legend was also rather bizarre, "I am _that_ Wandering Huntsman, yes." He answered her question.

There was a long moment of silence before a smile slowly formed on her face, "...Cool." she said before her excitement became really visible through her slightly vibrating form, "So about the cape? Can you... tell me what it is?"

"...Well, you know about Semblance, right?" he asked, to which she nodded, "This is that but transformed, amplified." In response, as if by silent mental command, the cape was formed with a quick spark of white light, "If Semblance is meant to reflect our soul through how it manifests, then this cape is my soul made manifest, it shows me who I am."

"Huh... So, what does your cape mean then?" she asked, because if it is his physically manifested soul, then the cape must mean something, which is how Semblance worked, if a person possess a magnetic personality, as in they drew many people to them by sheer charisma, then by that virtue, their Semblance would reflect that in some way, maybe even to the point of having magnetic powers.

"Capes has always been depicted as a symbol of heroism... It can represent my desire to help or it could also represent my tremendous strength. Either way, this cape is a symbol of my soul." He explained before he called it off silently, "I don't know what to call it as of yet though, even if I know it's something new and different than Semblance, I have yet to name it."

"Can you show it again?" she asked as she drew herself closer to him, prompting him to raise his eyebrows, "I wanna see if I can touch it."

With a shrug, he summoned it again, and Amber found that the cape seemed to overlap with his shoulder at the upper edges. With its partial transparency, her mind thought that it was not tangible, yet when her finger reached for it, she felt the smooth 'fabric' that it was made from. "Wow... I've never seen something like this before."

"Even with your Maiden powers?" asked Jaune.

"Nope, this is _far_ more magical than what I have." She answered, thoroughly fascinated by what the young man Jaune was showing her and how touching it made her comfortable, "This right here, in my opinion, is more magic than the Maidens ever were." She then looked at Jaune with a small smirk, "I wish I had _yours_ to be honest. You're overwhelmingly fast, strong, and does it come with stamina too?"

When Jaune nodded, Amber whistled as she took a step back and fell limply on the edge of the bed, ass-first, "Yeah... color me jealous." She breathlessly said, "If _I_ had your power... I would never have to be afraid of anything."

"Is it tiring, having Maiden powers?" now _his_ curiosity was piqued.

"It comes mostly from having to sleep with one eye open, so to speak." Amber said, "Why do you think my body is used to waking up this early no matter how late I slept in? I had to keep my guard up at all-times to be safe." She shook her head,"Not a good life, I tell you. ... So, why do _you_ live in The Wilds? I know it's to continuously hunting Grimm, but _why_?"

"I want to fulfill my desire to help, and culling Grimm population helps in the long run. Along the way, I also help people whenever I can." He answered her.

"That's... rather simplistic, but... Can't fault its nobleness." Amber remarked with a small smile, "Alright, next question... Rumors about you began five years ago, but how long have you actually been in The Wilds?" she asked.

"Seven years." He answered. "I've been out here for quite a while."

"I'll say. So how old were you when you first went out? I've been living this nomadic life for... eight years I guess, starting when I was... uh... when I was in my teenage years." She said, not wanting to reveal her age for now, "So, how old were you?"

"I was eleven." He answered.

Amber's mind stopped at that. "W-Wait, eleven?! That's-! _I_ began living in The Wilds when I was sixteen! Wait, does that mean that you're-?!"

"Yeah, I'm eighteen years old."

"YOU'RE _ONLY_ EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD?!"

On the bar below the rented rooms, Qrow blinked at hearing Amber yelling, he presumed at Jaune, before he simply continued his drinking, "Heh, so young and already leaving a big mark on the world." A small, melancholic smile was on his face as he muttered, "Don't know if I should commend or berate you for achieving that feat, kid..."

* * *

 _A short time later..._

'He's at least nine inches taller than me with muscles built down to its individual fibers, and he's _only_ eighteen years old?' was the question that she kept asking herself as she, on top of her white horse, looked at Jaune at his side.

She, Jaune and Qrow were walking side-by-side in the midst of the tall trees surrounding them, and Amber's brown eyes kept on locking onto Jaune, even as she attempted to pull her eyes away from the much younger man. 'He's _six years_ my junior, yet he looks as old as I'm supposed to be if not more... That is... _so_ misleading.'

She had thought that he was about her age, maybe even a bit older, like 27 perhaps at the oldest, but never did she think that he would be a teenager. 'Not to mention his voice, it sounded a bit too deep for a teenager. Then there's his demeanor... Talk about false advertisement...' she scratched her cheek as she forced herself to look away.

"Are you okay, Amber?" his voice made her turn her head so quick, "You've been fidgeting for quite a while, is there anything wrong?"

"N-no, nothing's wrong, it's just..." she shook her head before saying, "I still can't believe you're eighteen years old." Her voice was as flat as a glass surface.

"Must be the Arc gene in him." Said Qrow with his ever-present smirk, "Almost every Arc, male or female, are blessed with tall-inducing genes. Jaune seems to be the _most_ blessed, seeing as eighteen is still a growing age."

"He does have a point." Jaune confirmed, "My father's also quite tall, so is my mother, even if she married into the family."

"But still, this tall at your age? What do you eat out here in The Wilds?" nutritious substances in The Wilds were not as effective than ones that had been processed, and the other factors that affects your stature would be the food that you eat, so for Jaune to get this tall was... quite a feat.

"I ate what I can."

They walked for quite a while, with the two of them talking to each other while Qrow was simply content in listening in to what they're saying. He found a small solace in hearing the interaction between two young people acting like young people, which did wonders for his oh so cynical heart.

The path they walked led to an open area, which they could see as already occupied by a large VTOL aircraft that has landed there before they came along. Two figures stood in front of the vehicle, one was a grey-haired man dressed in green-and-black formal ensemble complete with green scarf that covered his neck, a pair of moon-lensed glasses on his eyes and a cane that he used to lean on. He evoked the image of an archetypal wizard, mysterious yet also relaxed.

The other was a blonde-haired woman clad in black-and-white ensemble, a white formal blouse with a tear-shaped opening that showed the cleavage of her impressive bust, black corset-pencil skirt with brown buttons, a pair of black stockings and high-heeled shoes which conveyed the image of a librarian which became more pronounced when one saw that she had a riding crop on her hand, the black cape with purple lining on its inside hanging on her shoulders simply complemented the image she was exuding.

"Ah, the man and woman of the hour." Qrow said with utter, blatant cheekiness as they approached the two figures. "They might look cool now, but if you know them long enough, the magic quickly lose its luster. They're as much humans as you and me." He contemplated for a moment before he turned to Jaune, "Though maybe not in _your_ case."

The wizard and the librarian began to approach them back, and when they were close enough, the man spoke first, "It's nice to meet you, Qrow." He greeted the unkempt Huntsman before he turned to the woman riding the white horse,, "And you as well, Ms. Amber." Then her eyes landed on the blonde man wearing a blue hooded long coat and he nodded, "Hello to you too, Mr...?"

"Jaune, Jaune Arc." He introduced himself, "I'm... a new addition." He answered with a shrug. "I know you weren't expecting me, but Qrow said that you would be interested in meeting."

"Well, he did say in his last report that I will want to come along and personally meet you." Ozpin remarked before he introduced himself and the woman at his side, "I am Ozpin, and she is Glynda Goodwitch, headmaster and deputy headmistress of Beacon Academy, respectively. Are you, by chance, related to Arthur Arc?" The Arc family members were famous for either being a Huntsman or other positions of power/fame, but this man was an unknown to Ozpin.

Who was this Arc? It didn't help that Arthur Arc was a very private person. He knew that his wife was also a Huntsman, Jeanne Arc nee Stark, an equally private person and a fierce Huntress from Atlas who was known for her her high Grimm bodycount and altruistic tendencies for years before she decided to dial down on her Huntsman duties when she married Arthur. Other than that, he knew nothing else about his family.

So could he be their son? It did sound plausible, but that would mean they had been very active since the first year of their marriage. It did not seem implausible, but...

"I'm his seventh child."

Ah, there's the confirmation. With that clear, he decided to cut to the chase, "Qrow never told us how you came into the picture, so to speak." He said as he gestured his hand towards him, "Mind telling us how?"

"Well, where should I start? Should I begin with my observation of the White Fang encampment or should I begin with my encounter with the three humans I fought who were meeting with them?"

"Hm... It sounds like a long story. Perhaps one that is best spoken about in private company?" Ozpin asked rhetorically, "If so, then might I suggest we all ride on the plane and discuss this in Beacon?" he gestured to the VTOL plane.

"W-wait, what about Albus?" asked Amber as she patted the white horse she was riding on, "He can't possibly fit in there, let alone be comfortable." She slowly, gently ruffled the horse's mane as it remained silent.

"Well..." Ozpin mulled over as he looked at the plane while Glynda Goodwitch's eyes narrowed at him in a combination of exasperation and suspicion. "I'm sure something can be done to accommodate it."

* * *

 _Later on..._

Looking at the man sitting beside her in the plane, she barely believed his claim of being eighteen years old. He was taller than her by an inch _while_ she was in high-heels. Though The Wilds had been said to age those who Hunt there on a daily basis, she knew that it was a metaphor to the callousness of the Wilderness of Remnant instead of the literal truth.

Though she could see behind his blue eyes a soul of a wizened warrior tempered by The Wilds, knowing how old he actually was made her realize that, for all intents and purposes, he was still... a child. A very precocious, huge child, but a child nonetheless.

Yet for seven years he lived and prevailed against the darkness in The Wilds known as the Grimm. To the point that he somehow managed to attain something that outshines Semblance like a lighthouse outshine a light bulb.

The ghostly white cape hung on his back and was draped onto the seat he was occupying, and Glynda had been caressing it ever since he first showed it minutes ago, "It feels so real..."

"It does, doesn't it?" asked the Maiden, Amber, who was sitting across them beside Ozpin, "So magical, so heroic-looking, so... jealous~." She sighed out as she cast a needy gaze at the cape. "I'll say it again, I wish I had _that,_ to be honest."

"Indeed, it is rather striking." Ozpin remarked. Though appearing rather nonchalant, Glynda could see that the man was deeply intrigued by Jaune Arc's power. "Have you given a name to this yet? I had half a mind to name it Semblance 2.0 or Semblance V2, but I'm afraid I am simply not creative enough."

Or maybe it's because he had exhausted his creativity. It's rather telling how firm a grasp he had on names when he would play around with student's initials to make a team name that sounded catchy, but maybe outside of that occasion, the skill is rather diminished.

Then again, maybe it's because he didn't have a mug filled with that black, bitter, too-strong-for-her-taste coffee at this moment that he always had on his person all the time in Beacon. His addiction was both an annoyance and a necessity, which gave Glynda no reprieve from getting annoyed whenever she dealt with him.

However, Ozpin's remark made her think as well. The discovery of Aura and Semblance along with the discovery of Dust helped humankind in their seemingly endless fight against the Grimm, and he, on his own, showed that it could somehow be improved to the point of it being solid enough to be touched.

"You said before that the cape comes with the strength." she stated, finding the soft, silk-like texture of the cape to be very... comforting somehow. It felt warm to the touch and helped calming her mind down, "Usually, Semblances are quite straight-forward in what they do or give, but yours not only materialize as an object, but also give you power... It is definitely something quite different to a Semblance."

"Yeah, but I've never thought about naming it before." Jaune answered nonchalantly, "Any thoughts?"

"If this is a true manifestation of your soul..." Glynda began, still subconsciously caressing the cape, "With how it appears to be, how about Mantle?" she asked.

"Mantle..." Jaune muttered as he adopted the same expression that Ozpin did when they heard Glynda's suggestion, "That sounds fitting actually."

"Indeed, it sounds very appropriate." Ozpin nodded with a satisfied smile.

"It sounds awesome." Amber remarked with a smile before the group fell into a long moment of comfortable silence.

"Thank you, Ms. Glynda." Jaune said as he gave her a nod and a grateful smile.

Even his demeanor was far more adult-like than most who were his age. At the very least, that was one of his many saving graces. "You're welcome. Something like this deserves to be given a proper name. I'm just glad that I was the one to do it."

"I see. Still, I know the cape feels soft, but is there something that compels you to caress it for so long?" he couldn't help but to ask.

The question brought Glynda out of her reverie as she quickly pulled her hand away and pushed down the frown that she nearly made when her hand no longer felt the warmth that the cape produced. "Apologies, I was... rather entranced." She decided to be somewhat honest about it.

"It's alright." Jaune shrugged, he didn't mind her touching the cape, he just wanted to know why she was holding it for so long.

" _Alright everyone, we're closing in on Beacon Academy, fasten your seat-belts if you haven't already ladies, gentlemen and horsie."_

With pilot Qrow's announcement over the speaker, the four humans and the horse lying low on all fours between them prepared for the landing.

* * *

 _Meanwhile, on the ground..._

"Ah, here they come." Said a rather portly mustached man with greying hair as he, along with his green-haired, bespectacled friend at his side looked at the approaching airship. "You know, do you not think it's a bit strange that Ozpin wanted us to directly meet this person accompanying the Maiden? Rarely had he ever divulged most of what he does to us, I considered myself lucky when he decided to trust us with the Fall Maiden."

"I agree, there's something amiss," said the taller bespectacled man with the bearing akin to that of a doctor, "However, it might be that Ozpin wants us to meet this person directly so that we can give an immediate proper assessment in case he will be put close."

"Ah yes, that makes sense." agreed the portly man with a nod, "Then again, I am also curious as to how the man that is now in our custody and this person are linked together. I suspect that there's something that Ozpin has yet to tell us."

"Like always, not that we've ever thought otherwise. I suppose we'll find out soon."

With that comment, they fell into a comfortable silence as they watched the airship descending followed by billowing winds that came from its vertical propellers. The sight of a familiar unkempt huntsman on the cockpit surprised them, Qrow Branwen, Ozpin's most secretive ally was here?

Deciding to wait before suspecting anything, the two let events unfold as the airship fully-landed, followed by the door opening and then the first person they saw exiting was an unknown man, slightly taller than Glynda without raised heels on his black boots with a mop of bright blonde hair on his head and striking blue eyes.

When he stepped onto the landing pad, the portly man quickly approached him and said; "Welcome, welcome to Beacon, I am Peter Port, one of the Professors in this here Academy." He introduced himself as he extended his right hand towards him. When he reciprocated, Peter quickly asked, "Who might you be, old boy?"

"I'm Jaune Arc, nice to meet you, Mr. Port." He said.

"Ah just call me Peter, boy." He was not one for being overly formal outside of class, and considering he was not a student or looked young enough to be one, he didn't want him to address him so formally.

"It is nice to meet you, Mr. Arc my name's Bartholomew Oobleck, a fellow professor. I am also a doctor, but you can just call me Bart." Jaune caught the extended hand and shook it, "Strong grip, very impressive. If I may ask, how are you related to Arthur Arc and how old are you?" he asked in quick succession.

"I am... his son," he answered first, causing Bart's eyes to widen and Port's bushy eyebrows to rise up in response, "and I'm eighteen years old."

When they fell into silence, their colleague Glynda exited from the airship and couldn't help but to smirk at their reaction, 'Glad to know that I'm not the only one who thought he's younger than he looks.'

Following Glynda was Ozpin, who remarked, "Ah, thank you for the welcoming party Bart, Peter." Said the headmaster as he exited, followed, finally, by Amber, the Fall Maiden, "Now, you've met Mr. Arc, now let me introduce you to her," he gestured to the dark-skinned woman and said; "This here is Ms. Amber, I believe you know who she is."

Bart and Peter nodded to his suggestion, and Ozpin broke the ice by saying, "Ms. Amber, these two men are Peter Port and Bartholomew Oobleck, Professor of Grimm Studies and History respectively. Now, let us all go to my office, I need to get my dose of coffee."

* * *

 _Later on..._

Seven people gathered in Beacon's Headmaster's Office, and the one to whom the room belonged was now holding a mug of coffee which he first sniffed before he sipped. "Ah~... now..." He said as he looked at the six others who were lined up horizontally in front of his office desk while he stood behind it. "Mr. Arc, let us start with what happened."

"Well, then I'll start with me finding out a White Fang encampment, which led to me seeing a trio of people making deals with their leader, and which led me to..."

He then told them all how he encountered the three people who somehow managed to sense him from so far away and how it led to a fight that ended with his victory, considering that one was now incarcerated, the other swallowed by a black goo and the last one escaping. "Out of it all, I only knew one of their names. Luckily, it's the one who ran away. Emerald, green hair, red eyes with dark skin."

"I see..." Ozpin nodded before he turned to Qrow, "Qrow, I believe you have your suspicions in regards to who those three actually are... Care to tell them?" he implicitly ordered the huntsman.

"Yeah," Qrow smirked before he answered; "I believe our Knight in Shining Armor here has just taken out The Queen."

Other than the bearer of good news Qrow along with Jaune and Amber who were in the dark, the others shared an expression of utter shock and surprise the former's assessment. They knew who the grizzled Huntsman was talking about, and the certainty in which he spoke of this needed to be figured out. "Can you tell us how you came to that conclusion?" Ozpin asked Qrow, hesitant and skeptical but willing to listen.

"It's only been a day, but from what my contacts have gathered, the web that The Queen had spread has been very rattled. They expected for something to come up by now, and considering how punctual she is, or was, they are concerned that she has not been responsive."

"That is not a solid enough ground to be an evidence that the woman _was_ The Queen." Glynda said, though there was a sense of hopefulness in her tone of voice, "Do you have anything else besides a proof of absence?"

"Sadly, no." Qrow answered before he raised his right hand slightly with its index finger extended, "But. Judging by how she met her demise, I'm willing to bet my life that the woman in red that Jaune here defeated," he gestured to the youngest yet also the tallest blonde in the group, "was The Queen."

With that, everyone began to mull over his insight. "Did _you_ see their fight, Qrow?" asked Ozpin.

"Only at the very end, when he was taking care of the black goo that was once our mysterious woman who may or may not be The Queen we know and _love_ to hate." Qrow answered before his face turned grim, "Remembering that black thing makes my stomach churn. Whatever she did involved Grimm, considering what she looked like afterwards. Hopefully that's the last we see of her though."

"I'm willing to bet my life that that's not." Jaune retorted back, causing everyone to focus on him, who shared Qrow's grim expression, "When I pulverized the goo, some of it escaped by seeping to the ground. In one form or another, that woman will come back, that I can tell."

"Oh? You have some sort of instinct for this thing, are you?" asked the intrigued Qrow, asking the question that everyone else wanted to ask but was beaten to the punch.

"Not instinct, just... assumption. One that I'm quite certain of." Jaune answered, "Anyway, I've told my story... Now that I'm here, is there anything else you wanted to ask from me, or are we done?"

Ozpin was silent as he pondered the question. Helped by the taste of the heaven in a mug known to him as coffee, he contemplated about it for a good five seconds of silence before he said, "Now that you mention it, I suppose I'm not done with you yet." He then did a 'but' gesture with his right hand, slightly raised with its index finger extended upwards, "But first, Ms. Amber's housing needs to be taken care of."

"Huh? Wait, are you sugge-, no, forcing me to move here?" asked the Maiden, "Nuh-uh, not gonna do that. If anyone here figures out my status as a Maiden, I'll be attracting a lot of attention. Why do you think I never stay around in one place in The Wilds?"

"You've been relatively hidden for quite a long time now, Ms. Amber, and our housing isn't exactly a public area." Ozpin said, "I've prepared a place for you. Perhaps you would say it is a gilded cage, but we can arrange for scheduled outings once in a while, guarded not just by us, but also by Mr. Jaune here."

At that she stopped and began to consider the Headmaster's offer seriously, "Hm... that sounds... acceptable, actually." Considering the guy was actually really freaking strong, stronger than she was, most likely. It made a lot of sense that he'd be her bodyguard.

"So you're going to offer me a job as a bodyguard?" asked Jaune, assuming that this was the case due to the implication of what Ozpin said.

"Well, that's an extra." Ozpin remarked with a shrug before a smile that made Glynda frown in exasperation and Peter and Bart to smile knowingly formed on Ozpin's face. "My main offer revolves around education actually, one that you might want to consider before giving a straight answer. So, are you willing to hear it, Mr. Jaune? Or should we focus on this power of yours first? This... Mantle?"

* * *

 _Sometime later... In another location..._

Blunted double-edged steel swords clashed against one another as their two wielders, one an adult blonde man with blue eyes and slight stubble around his mouth and a much younger woman with similar but longer blonde hair styled into a ponytail and a pair of brilliant sea-green eyes fought fiercely. Clad in similar white-and-blue training clothes as what the older man was wearing, it was clear that the purpose for the fight was to train.

"Keep your feet moving! You're more durable than this!" yelled the man to the young woman as he kept on parrying her blows with ease that came from experience, even as it it continued to rain down on him like a storm, "Good! Now be more fluid and less predictable!"

Her eyes began to stop transmitting her targets and his prediction of her movements became less and less coherent by the seconds. "Hm! Very good!" he yelled in approval, "Keep it up now! And don't forget to breathe!"

Like singing a song, it was important to regulate one's breathing to be able to continuously perform. It was one of the essentials in fighting as it was in life, and the young woman heeded what was said and did not let her breathing be interrupted, creating a steady, flowing rhythm that was emphasized by the continuous sound of clashing swords.

The exchange of blows continued on uninterrupted as the two combatant fought fiercely against one another. It was now clear however, that the two of them sought not to kill each other, but for the younger woman to learn from the more experienced man she was up against.

"Stop!" commanded the older man as both of them came to a halt, altogether stopping their fight as their swords clashed against each other one final time. There was a second of silence before the older man smiled and said; "Excellent work, June."

With that, both of them disengaged, "Thanks, dad." Said June, the blonde girl who now smiled as her fair skin glowed with sweat. She sheathed the sword and wiped the sweat off of her forehead before she asked, "So, how'd I do? I'm ready now, aren't I?" she asked.

"Now now, remember what I've told you when we started training?" asked her father with a wag of his index finger.

"'You can never be truly ready, only sufficiently prepared'" June recited what she had committed to memory long ago. "So am I prepared now?" she quickly asked again, wanting to know his assessment on her progress.

"As prepared as I can make you." Said her father as a sad smile formed on his face. "Now, let's conclude this training by going home and have lunch, shall we?"

With a sigh of slight relief, June said; "I _am_ getting hungry..." the feeling was emphasized by her patting her stomach. "What does mom have for us today, I wonder?"

"Something extravagant, I'm sure. We _are_ on a shared day off, and your sisters are all here." Said her father with a fond smile that was filled with confidence towards his wife and one of his daughters.

Both father and daughter walked away from the clearing where they had fought and towards the house only a couple of hundred of meters away. Living in a remote area like this, despite what was told in the cities, was not hazardous. If one were to live a happy life, the Grimm will never be attracted to you, and what happier life there was than a simple life surrounded by a loving family?

It was when you made your life more complex that all the negative feelings could overwhelm you. Taking a page from a very old historian from Vale named Walden, both he and his wife had decided that a simple life was much more preferable, even if they were both very prized Huntsmen of great reputation.

Not that it stopped them from teaching their children how to fight Grimm and humans alike. It's one thing to prefer a quiet life, it's another thing to prepare in case something that required their children to fight for their life occurred, considering the world they live in, it wasn't an investment made out of paranoia.

To that end, they chose to teach them once they reached the proper age of eleven at the minimum, but at times, they make some exceptions to their more... talented ones. One of them being June, who wasn't just talented, but _insisted_ on being taught early.

Approaching their two story house, the pair saw the beloved mother of their family with her long blonde hair that reached to her hips braided as she wore a simple white blouse, a black loose pants and a pair of blue shoes. Her green eyes seemed to be shining brightly as if they were filled with happiness, impatience and anxiety all mixed together.

"Arthur, June, come inside, quickly, I've been waiting for quite sometime." Said one Jeanne Arc as she gestured them to come inside.

With raised eyebrows, they did, and saw that June's sisters were gathered together around the living room as they surrounded Jeanne's Scroll as if it was the legendary box that belonged to Pandora with all the temptation to open it affecting those in its proximity.

"Why are you all gathered here for?" asked Arthur to his daughters.

"Jaune just sent us a video message!" said an excited young woman with short, spiky blonde hair and a pair of sapphire-shaded eyes, "After so long! Come on, we all need to hear this!"

June's eyes widened at what her sister Sylvia said before she quickly took a seat among her sisters and gazed at the scroll with eyes filled with intenttion to watch the video.

" _Of course_ June immediately sit down for this." Remarked another sister of hers, one whose long blonde hair was tied on its ends, making it a bit puffy on the middle as it fell to her lower back.

"Shut up Mera." June said to her blue-eyed sister, though her attempt to sound fierce was a bit diminished by the blush on her cheeks.

"Girls. Please, let's be quiet for a few seconds, okay?" asked Jeanne with a smile, one that was enough in its appearance to cow the others into silence complete with an ominous shadow that seemed to darken the area around her eyes.

"Listen to your mother, girls." Chided Arthur, conveying the degree of his intention to look at the message that his son had sent. "Now, let's see what Jaune has to say..." he trailed off as he looked at the screen and pressed his finger where it needed to be placed.

The video set up on the Scroll then began to play, showing Jaune's face against an unfamiliar background that looked like a marble wall, which was one of the tell-tale of a high-end building. Of course, the one noticing this among the Arc family were nine out of nine.

Those who could narrow down the possibility to a few places? Two out of nine. Jeanne and Arthur had some close, educated guesses as to where he was the moment they saw the wall.

" _Hey mom, dad, Mera, Sylvia, Cora, Luna, Stella, Rouge, June."_ He greeted all of them without exception, and called his sisters starting from the oldest to the youngest. _"I'm sorry that I haven't been calling you all these seven years. If you chose to open my message, then thank you for still willing to hear me out after more than half a decade being away."_

Jeanne sighed and shook her head, an action that was shared by the others who were there.

When he chose to leave one night without telling them other than that note he left in his closet, they were understandably upset. Who wouldn't? After all, one of their youngest family member just walked out to do who knows what in the wilderness of Remnant.

After seeing his note however, it only took time for them to come to terms with the fact that Jaune was simply... filled with the desire to be and do more, which led to him leaving his home behind to fulfill said desire.

The decision to let such a thing be did not come out of vacuum however. Before his departure, Jaune had been... different, ever since what happened when he was five. His determination became so... unyielding to the point of being inhuman. When he asked his father and mother to train and was met with refusal, he simply chose to do it all himself.

A couple of days of letting him be had caused husband and wife to see something that shocked them: Jaune was mostly successful in becoming stronger all on his own, starting with him unlocking his aura so early. From then on, they decided to take him and whatever he said seriously.

Which was, in hindsight, why he never told them about how he was pulled to go outside the safe boundary of his home and make something for himself and the world. If he even hinted on that idea, they would've taken him seriously and moved to prevent him from doing that.

With time however, after all has been said and done, both Jeanne and Arthur chose to let things be. It was one of the hardest thing they had to do, but it had to be done for them to respect their son and had a peace of mind.

Now that they finally had a form of contact from him after so long, they were interested in knowing how he had fared. He was still alive, that was for sure, but they wanted to know more

With what was visible of Jaune on the screen, they could see the musculature of his shoulders and Cora, the girl whose blonde hair was styled into a top-bun and whose eyes were the shade of emerald, spoke what they all thought: "Is it just me, or is Jaune actually look rather... muscular?"

Undeterred by the one-sided question, the recording of Jaune continued, _"Anyway, the reason I'm sending you a video instead of calling is so that I can tell you some things: Firstly, I'm fine, I'm not ill, physically damaged or mentally compromised in any way. Secondly, I've done quite well in The Wilds considering how harsh it can be out there, and... I've just been informed that I might've made a difference that I was aiming for when I started this. Thirdly, and most importantly... I'm here to tell you that my days as a Wandering Huntsman is being put on hold for the moment."_

"D-does this mean that he'll come back home?" June couldn't help but to blurt out the question.

"A little desperate, aren't ya sis?" asked Luna, the one with the long, wild, unkempt blonde hair and electric blue eyes with a teasing smile on her face, which prompted June to glare at her as Luna oh-so-innocently looked the other way.

"Ssssh! I want to know what he means by that!" said Stella, whose blonde hair was tied into a pair of pigtails as her green eyes were covered by a pair of black-rimmed glasses.

" _This doesn't mean that I'm going home though."_ Said Jaune, prompting the others to deflate at what he said, _"What I'm saying is that I've been offered a place at Beacon Academy."_

"Wait, what?!" yelled the one whose blonde hair was wavier than the others' straighter ones and the only one whose eyes were heterochromatic, blue on the right and green on the left. "Isn't it a bit late for him? He's never entered any Huntsman Academy below Beacon's level and he's eighteen, so does this mean that he will be with seventeen year-olds?" said the one named Rouge.

"Wait..." Arthur blurted out, coming to a conclusion that shocked him, "He couldn't mean..."

" _June, knowing what you wanted to, and hopefully still, want to be, I had a guess that you'll be going to Beacon, no?"_ June enthusiastically nodded despite him not being able to see her do it. She wanted to become a Huntsman, and she wasn't surprised that he knew of it, him being the one who inspired her and the one who was there when she first proclaimed her ambition.

So did this mean that she will be going alongside him for the whole thing? Even if Jaune was older than her by a year, he had been in The Wilds for so long, so if he was offered a place in there, it had to be in first year, right? A smile slowly formed on her face at the thought.

" _The thought was one of the reasons why I chose to accept Ozpin's offer."_ Arthur and Jeanne's eyebrows rose up. Why was he only using Ozpin's name without his title as the Headmaster? Such familiarity made them feel that there's something more to this whole thing. _"So when the new semester starts and you're accepted, you can expect me to be in your classes as an assistant Professor. Looking forward to meeting you again sis. Now, I don't know how long I'll be here exactly, but-"_

Everyone had stopped listening the moment Jaune said he was going to be a teacher. Jaune Arc, their eighteen years old brother/son, was going to be a teacher at a prestigious Academy, a Professor. "Whoa... Heh, way to go, Jaune!" Sylvia cheered.

June, who was rendered speechless for a couple of seconds, slowly smiled, a sight that, when it was seen by her parents, made them feel nostalgic. It was the same smile that conveyed how much she believed in her brother that she showed seven years ago, when he left, the same smile that she wore when she assured them that Jaune was going to be fine.

" _Brother's strong. A_ lot _stronger than you might think he is. He's going to be fine. I've seen him fight, I saw him_ winning _those fights, I_ know _he will be alright out there. Please, just believe in him like I do."_

Jeanne looked at Arthur, both of them felt stupid and relieved at the same time. Stupid for having doubted their daughter to the point of deciding to only humor her conviction, and relieved that she knew him better than they did. With a smile, they looked over at their youngest daughter, June Arc, as she gushed over her brother.

'Brother... You're even more awesome than you were back then.' Though the wide smile felt as if it was tearing her face apart, she couldn't suppress it even for one inch, 'I can't wait to meet you again too! This time, I'll show you how far I've come since then! Then maybe... we can fight alongside each other now.'

* * *

 _Sometime before, with Jaune..._

"Anyway, that's all I can tell you for now. Goodbye guys." He then finished his recording, used Glynda's Scroll-mail account to find his mother's own address, attach the video and then sent it to her.

A sigh of relief escaped his mouth as his shoulders felt much lighter, as if relieved from an invisible burden. Seven years without so much of a contact between him and his family, and now it was done through a one-way media.

Call him a coward, but he simply wasn't prepared to have a conversation with them yet. He wanted to assure them that he was fine and that was what he did, but to interact with them was... not something he's really prepared for right now.

"Mr. Arc?" Glynda's voice brought him out of his reverie as he looked up, "Are you ready? The preparation's finished."

He nodded before he quickly stood up and gave her back her Scroll, "Thank you for this by the way. I needed to tell them."

"It's nothing Mr. Arc." Glynda assured him, understanding how he would want to inform his family about his employment... In case he got it, "But are you not a bit cocky? We have yet to test your capabilities, and you act as if you've already got it." She was a bit annoyed and somewhat impressed by his subtle confidence, but most of all, curious about what he just did.

"I have a feeling that Ozpin already believed what Qrow said and this is just a formality." He stated flatly, and Glynda found herself staring at him blankly.

...It made a whole lot of sense. Then again, why wasn't she-? ...Right, because he's _Qrow,_ the always-drunk, always-sarcastic _Qrow Branwen_. Ozpin might have it in him to believe the man without a lot of proof, but Glynda was simply too skeptical of a person to be so trusting with the drunkard.

Then again, seeing what she had coined as Mantle from him, Glynda supposed she could understand where this sense of overwhelming self-assurance came from. "Perhaps..." she conceded to his statement. "Nevertheless, let's go, shall we?"

From Glynda's office which he had borrowed along with her Scroll, the two left for the edge of a cliff that overlooked the neighboring Emerald Forest, the wide lush area filled with green trees that hid ruins amongst them was the place for his test.

Waiting for him was Ozpin, who was still holding to that mug filled with coffee. "Ah, glad to finally see you arrive." He greeted the two of them before sipping his coffee, "Now, Mr. Jaune, we will see firsthand if the legend involving you is true."

Apparently, that was what he was now, a legend. It seemed that quite a lot of people knew of The White Caped Samaritan, a figure often seen from afar by few and fewer than that have ever met him personally, a figure known for his capability to defeat Grimm with overwhelming power.

He had never known about that stuff. He had been spending too much time in The Wilds, rarely had he the need to go to the beacons of high-end civilizations such as the Four Kingdoms, and as such, he did not know about his own reputation. His secret identity and reputation was also helped by the fact that his cape only showed whenever he wanted it to or if he were pushed far enough to.

A Modern Legend... Now what he expected to become when he first plunged himself into The Wilds, if he had to be honest. "I don't know, what _do_ they say about me?" asked Jaune, playfully feigning ignorance.

"Many things. Mostly, they say that you are a Good Samaritan, one that was more than just good, but also powerful." Ozpin answered, "A combination that ultimately made the world a better place. You've been busy, and the results are showing."

Grimm population, or at least their presence, were at an all-time low and so, slow, steady and yet also wary expansion efforts were being done as a result. Now that he remembered, the density of Grimm population in The Wilds had been quite diminished. Such a narrow insight from someone who didn't care about anything else other than how to help people close to him and in the long run shouldn't be much of a surprise.

"And you want to see this firsthand. Alright, I can do that." He nodded, knowing that now that they're here, all that's left for him to do was to just do it. "Where are the others though?"

"Oh, they're watching at the observation room." Ozpin once again answered, "I'm merely here to tell you what you need to do." He then gestured to the large forest that stretched out in the horizon, "Emerald Forest, as you might know, is _not_ a part of The Wilds, as it is considered a training field for our students to use. Perhaps that was why you never stepped foot in it, otherwise you would've been exposed earlier. Right now, there are still quite a number of Grimm in there, and within the area, there is a ruin housing an artifact. I want you to get it and bring it back as fast as you possibly can."

"While eradicating said Grimm along the way?" asked Jaune.

"More or less." Ozpin shrugged before he said; "Normally, this test is reserved for the initiates, but as a formality," Glynda resisted the urge to rub the bridge of her nose, "this test is to allow us to see how strong you really are. Qrow and Ms. Amber's testimony, while enough, still needs further confirmation. I hope you understand."

In response, he simply nodded with an eagerness apparent from the look he had in his eyes, "So, where should I start?" he asked before he pointed to the edge of the cliff, "From here?"

"Yes, use one of the launch pads, Mr. Jaune." Ozpin gestured to the lined-up rectangular steel on the edge of the cliff.

He stepped into one of them as Glynda and Ozpin stood far to his left side. Something about his demeanor suggested Glynda that he did that only to humor Ozpin. He turned to the two of them and said, "On your go, Ozpin."

With a smile, he nodded, "On the count of three then... One..."

Glynda took a deep breath as she kept her sight set on him.

"Two..."

When his white cape materialized again, Glynda's breath hitched. There was something within that Mantle of his that radiated power. Semblances tend to do that, but never to this degree. Looking at the headmaster, she saw that he too felt the power he held pouring out of him the moment his Mantle was activated.

"...Three."

She saw a small smile formed on Jaune Arc's face. What came next was his presence disappearing as if he were recorded and the frames between him standing there and him no longer there were cut, and then it was followed with a blast of wind that forced her and Ozpin to cover their eyes.

'Well, it looks like he really _was_ humoring him.' Perhaps this test was more of a formality than she first thought...

* * *

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **So, Mantle. Like how Semblance is taken from either Re** _ **semblance**_ **, which means 'Comparable likeness between at least two things or person.' Or** _ **semblance,**_ **which means 'The apparent form of something', Mantle is taken from the word mantle, which can either mean a cloth cloak/cape or a role one takes or is given to.**

 **Basically, what I'm saying is that Semblance is a person's soul manifested as a power, while Mantle is when this manifestation becomes much more pronounced and more material-like in addition to giving a greater degree of power to its users. In Jaune's case, its form is a cape and all that comes with it.**

 **To put it shortly, Semblance is the projection of one's soul into the physical world while Mantle is the manifestation of one's soul into the physical world, which means that Ozpin wasn't wrong when he said it's Semblance 2.0**

 **Oh, and I just introduced Jaune's younger sister by a year whose name also began with J, so with Jaune becoming an assistant professor, I think it's quite obvious who will become the J in JNPR.**

 **As to whose voice would fit her in my opinion, I imagine the English VA for June should be Tara Strong (Batgirl from The New Batman Adventures and Harley Quinn from Batman: Arkham City and Arkham Knight/Raven from Teen Titans)**

 **As for Japanese VA, I think that Miyuki Sawashiro (Cammy White from Street Fighter IV/Suruga Kanbaru from Bakemonogatari/Female Knight from Maoyuu Maou Yuusha) fits her best.**

 **See you later at the next chapter!**


	3. Some Familiar Faces

**Foreword: So the three anime series has been figured out. One-Punch Man, Fate/ Series and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Demon Stones got the last one right in their review.**

 **I'll go into detail as to what I've taken from them later, but for now, enjoy this chapter.**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own RWBY nor any of the original sources that I used to make the stories that I published here.

* * *

Restless was an adjective that would appropriately described his current state. Jeanne did not miss the telltales of changes that happened to her only son. It's been a month since the incident where Jeanne thought she had lost him, and in a way, she did.

The son that she knew before the incident was not the one that came back from that field of death he had miraculously stepped out alive from. Back then, Jaune was an awkward but honest boy, willing to make everybody happy, easy to be impressed and prone to bouts of crying at the slightest tease.

Now? Now, he was one of the most serious people in the house, which shouldn't be possible, considering that he was _five years old_. Children of his age should be vibrant to the point of annoying but also endearing, yet he...

The sounds of bone hitting wood reached her while she was sitting alongside her second youngest daughter Rouge, who was a year older than Jaune, in the living room and enjoying a light afternoon meal.

"Is that Jaune again?" wondered the heterochromatic Rouge with a worried frown on her face, "Why isn't he stopping? Didn't you and dad refused to train him and told him not to...? I'm going to stop him." She muttered, her tone of voice suggested how often this kind of thing happened.

"Rouge, no." Said Jeanne, stopping her daughter from getting off her chair before she stood up and said with a voice filled with resolve. " _I'll_ go."

Like her sisters, she too is worried for Jaune, Jeanne understood this. But she was still his sister while she was his mother. Seeing the look of understanding in her daughter's heterochromatic eyes, Jeanne gave her a thankful smile filled with resolve before she left.

After she took the staircase leading down to the small training room dedicated mostly for workout instead of combat training, the first thing she saw was her five year-old son, smashing his fists relently against the thick wooden post that was directly cut from a one-hundred year old tree.

It was known for its bark, which would continue to regenerate if someone would routinely break it piece by piece to, and so it was a good substance to make some sort of a sturdy punching bag that would cultivate the hardiness of one's knuckles.

However, it was _not_ something that a five-year old child should use. "Jaune, how many times have we told you to take a rest? You've wailed on the post for hours yesterday, you need to stop for a while."

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to." Was what he said without turning back to his mother.

With a sigh, she walked closer and what she saw made her frown, "...Jaune, stop. Now."

"No."

"Jaune, your knuckles are bleeding." Said Jeanne, yet her son kept on punching the post which, on close inspection was beginning to be partly covered with his blood while his fingers... were caked with it. "Jaune. Stop this. Now." Her voice became tighter.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't act as if you can't just stop, Jaune, you're hurting aren't you?" she immediately knelt down and grabbed his shoulders from behind, "If you stop now, I'll buy you a cheesecake, okay? You love them, don't you?" she asked, pleading for him to stop.

"I need to do this."

"Jaune..." she gulped a lump in her throat before she moved her hands to his small forearm and forced him to stop. Despite her superior strength however, she felt her son struggling despite the fact that his small hands were still covered in blood. "...Why do you need to do this, Jaune? Why is it necessary for you to hurt yourself so badly?"

"...I need to become strong." Was his answer.

"For what?" she asked, exasperated but also curious.

"...So that I won't be powerless." Answered Jaune. "I don't want to be helpless anymore."

What occurred a month ago had left wounds no one can see or can ever truly heal. To be there among the dead, a helpless boy incapable of doing anything else but to hide and hope for the best... How damaging it was to his mind to have lived through and survived it. "Jaune..." she gently overlapped her hands over his, with the still warm blood now on her palms, "Please be patient... You're still young, one day, your father and I will teach you all you want to know, just... Please stop hurting yourself."

His response was gentle and thoughtful as he slowly removed his hands from hers and turned to face her. His blue eyes, still bright like her husband's, were unyielding as he said; "I need this, mom. ...I'm sorry."

As she watched how he subjected himself again to the nigh-torturous routine he had decided to do for some reason that escaped her, Jeanne Arc couldn't help but to let tears fall from her eyes before she left, her heart heavy with burden.

The most painful thing with this was not because her son had changed, likely not for the better... No, she somewhat expected this to happen after he was rescued from that massacre, _no one_ would come out of such a tragedy unchanged, so it wasn't that. It was because he reminded her of her past self, so driven, so narrow-sighted, so filled with a need to make something of oneself that one simply don't _care_ about what they're doing to themselves in the process.

From the moment he was born, everyone knew that Jaune took a lot from his father. His blonde hair was more like his shade than hers, his eyes were blue like his, and he inherited many of his tics as well. At times, she wondered if there was something that he had gotten from her, a trace of herself in him.

She never thought that he would inherit one of her darkest sides of herself. Such blind determination... She had not the heart to be angry at him when she knew that was how she was way back then. He was now a mirror reflection of her in so many ways that she did not want him to be.

Why? Why must it be her innate zealous drive that he had to inherit from her?

* * *

 **Some Familiar Faces**

* * *

A blur of movement so fast that it only registered on the camera feeds for a split second was what was shown in front of Ozpin's computer monitor as he looked at them, trying to measure how _powerful_ the man actually was.

It was not supposed to be possible, what Jaune Arc was capable of doing. What Glynda has named as Mantle was undoubtedly a more material manifestation of Jaune Arc's soul, the purest, most unadulterated form of one's soul made physical. It was close, if not actually _was_ Sorcery, or more colloquially known as Magic.

Oh, Aura, Semblance and Dust possessed properties that could be mistaken as Magic, but the fact was that the three pillars of a Huntsman livelihood can, in a way, be measured and are used based on those measurements. This Mantle however, was new, untested and most of all, different than Semblance while more similar to the power of the Maidens.

For one, Ozpin did not know if the Mantle was what gave Jaune Arc his power or that Jaune Arc's power was the reason for its manifestation. Not even Jaune Arc himself knew where it came from, all he had to say for it was...

" _All I know is that I unlocked my Aura very early. Usually, a Semblance would manifest soon after that, but it didn't for me. However, what did happen to me was that everytime I trained, forced myself over the limit over and over and over... I feel myself improving. I did that for years and years, until one day... I managed to awaken my Mantle."_

Whatever Mantle was or which empowered which, one thing was certain: Jaune Arc's Mantle was terrifyingly powerful. Enhanced strength, speed along with the required secondary enhancements to all of his bodily senses to handle them, it did wonders in making him appear very heroic.

The test that he had devised was done in less than a minute. He and Glynda didn't even have the time to go back to the observation room before he powered through the Grimm in Emerald Forest to reach the artifact and then came back with but a single leap. And if his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, he's sure that he saw some Grimm actually _running away_ from his warpath.

'Living Modern Legend indeed...' Ozpin thought wryly. Qrow was right to call him as such. Considering how he moved exclusively in The Wilds and rarely, if never, interfered with the activities within or between the Four Kingdoms, Jaune Arc, or his mythical persona had never crossed Ozpin's mind, having had his mind preoccupied first and foremost with the enigmatic Queen.

'And now, she is out of the game...' It only took some time, investigation and some interrogation to discover that what Qrow had told him was indeed true: The Queen was removed out of play and it was all because of unexpected circumstances instead of what he himself had prepared.

He still remembered how the interrogation with their prisoner, Mercury Black went...

* * *

 _Sometime before..._

"You know that what you're doing isn't exactly legal, right? I mean, imprisoning someone in a secret bunker like this without even reading my rights beforehand is simply unconstitutional." Mercury's grin was full of bravado and nothing else as he sat on the small, rectangular cell walled with transparent walls harder than steel, courtesy of Atlas, "Not to mention that I'm technically disabled?" he pointed at the stumps on where his prosthetic legs used to be, "I mean come on, can't the handicapped guy get a break round' here?"

Ozpin, Glynda, Qrow and Amber glared at the man in front of them before the latter approached the wall and banged it hard with her fist, "Get a break my ass...! You deserve to be locked up! Your partner made me attack an innocent man, and you were in cohorts with the women who almost...!" she choked a bit, remembering the grotesque form that had been the black-haired woman whom she thought was innocent, helpless.

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, it's all just business." Mercury said with a shrug, apathetic to the would-be victim of his boss' machinations, "I got nothing against you, it's just that the boss does what the boss wants."

"And does this boss of yours has a name?" Ozpin cuts in, his face grim and severe.

Mercury simply smirked before he shrugged again, "Who _doesn't_ have a name? I mean, I have different names for every settlement I stepped into, you know, just in case."

"Then give us the name." Glynda said sternly, almost losing patience with the man.

"Eh, don't feel like it." Mercury shrugged before relaxed himself by stretching his arms up and groaned, "I mean, we have to work out a deal here, right? Which I won't take, because she is really scary." He chuckled and added, "And I doubt you can be as scary as she is, even if you all _are_ strong."

There was a long stretch of silence then, and Mercury felt as if he was invited to a party with the purpose of being humiliated and it only dawned on him just at the last second. Something was up, something was wrong, those were the thoughts on his mind at that moment.

When he first woke up here, he realized that he had been unconscious for half a day thanks to the clock they oh so graciously provided for him in his cell and was left alone for roughly the same length of time. Truth be told, he did not know what was going on, only that he had been caught. But that was just because he was unconscious and Cinder and Emerald had to run, right?

There was no way that he was left behind because he was the only one left alive out of the three, right?

"We can't be as scary as she is..." the voice from the person that just arrived sent chills down his spine. He recognized it, how could he not? His mind had made everything about _that man_ factors to induce fear. And when he showed himself from behind them, he wished that he wasn't backed up against the wall so that he could scoot himself further away, "Because for the most part, she's dead. If she shows up here, no doubt she'd be the scariest thing in the room." He spoke dryly.

That crushed Mercury's whole world down. Cinder Fall? Dead? "...You're lying." He spoke in a low volume and was no longer filled with confidence like before.

In response to that, he simply looked at him with that piercing blue eyes of his and he shivered. The man had pierced his body and painfully fixed his spine, he was not going to forget the experience anytime soon, and now this same man said that his boss, his utterly terrifying boss whom he both respected and feared in equal measure, was dead?

"Tell us this dead woman's name." The man ordered, and at the wording, Mercury stiffened further before he looked at the others who were there...

The Fall Maiden, the headmaster and his deputy headmistress were all glaring at him, and this time, with the knowledge that his employer was really dead, he gulped before he spilled the beans...

"H-her name... is... was... Cinder. Cinder Fall."

* * *

 _Present moment..._

The Queen's name was no doubt an alias. Fall was a _very_ uncommon surname, and considering that she was hunting for the _Fall_ maiden, it was very possible that the name was chosen either to evoke a sense of morbid humor or to emphasize her goal.

With a sigh, Ozpin felt as if a great weight has been released from his shoulders only to be replaced by another burden, one that was lighter, but nevertheless heavy. On one hand, he was glad that The Queen was neutralized, but on the other, one of her henchman, Mercury, knew nothing else about her besides her goal and capability.

" _I swear, the woman guarded her secrets zealously. I'm a merc, an assassin, I just do what was told of me, I don't care about her motives so long as I get paid and if possible, have fun doing it. Anything other than that?_ Way _above my paygrade."_

'Of course she would surround herself with people like that...' People who were capable, skilled and useful but wouldn't dig too deep to figure out their leader's motives, a complete follower archetype. It was rather cliche, a villainous figure like her having people like that, but it was easier to make than, say, cultivate utter devotion and loyalty by making a personality cult.

Considering the goal that she had in mind, it wasn't really necessary to establish such a thing anyway, all she would need were resources and capable people. 'Clearly, something went wrong...' Ozpin thought with a frown as he remembered Qrow's explanation as to what happened to her.

He had told him how the Cinder woman had tried to use something that looked like a bug Grimm, implanted onto a glove that she wore, and instead of doing whatever it was supposed to do to Amber, it turned its sights onto her and consumed her whole.

'Yet even after he destroyed it, he was certain that she, or the thing she had become would one day come back...' Ozpin thought before he sighed and mulled over what has now been known. 'The Queen might be out, but the King is still in play... Who... or _what_ are they?'

He brought up his mug to his lips only to grimace when he found that it was empty. Even if it was _very_ late at night, there was still some coffee that he kept on a special thermos of his... He needed it to think about the next course of action.

'Mr. Arc has altered the course of events... I need to figure out where it will lead... if I can.'

* * *

 _The day after..._

"You look quite entranced, Jaune." Glynda remarked as she looked at how the assistant professor looked all around him as if he's here for the very first time. "How long has it been since you've visited a city?"

"I don't think I've ever visited a city this big before." He answered as he looked around him, "The biggest place I've ever been to in The Wilds were mostly fringe settlements, much smaller than any of the Four Kingdoms, and my childhood home wasn't that big of a place either." He looked at Glynda with a smile on his face as he added, "Their beauties are to their own though."

"I agree... Though I'm more comfortable with much less people around." Said Amber as she was hooded by the blue longocat that Jaune had given her. It was too big for her, but it was sufficient to prevent people from being able to identify her by a glance just in case.

The blonde man whose torso was covered with a short-sleeved t-shirt that truly showed his immensely impressive physique. It was apparent that the percentage of his body fat was at an ideally low amount, judging by how his muscles were very pronounced, yet they were not overly bulky, mostly dense, like that of an athletic swimmer who trains himself everyday not just by swimming, but also by lifting weights and exercising his core muscles and the white t-shirt he wore was not helping in covering it all up.

'I suppose he looks appropriate as a bodyguard.' Being as tall as she was while in her heels, it was hard for a man to be more imposing than her when he stood at her side, but Jaune Arc's slightly taller height and muscular build helped in creating a strong image of himself that made him stand out even more than she was.

This morning, Glynda was tasked to take them to the city to do two things: Firstly, to ensure that Jaune and Amber were well-supplied for their stay in Beacon, and secondly, to outfit Jaune with a Professor-worthy set of clothing, which they will do after the former's been done.

'Everything must be done thoroughly.', such was the motto that Glynda worked hard to live by, no matter how hard it could be at times, but luckily this time, the task was something that she could do happily. Amber, as it turned out, was quite receptive to the shopping activity. Of course it was helped by how frugal and pragmatic she was in buying the clothes.

Jaune, having been a nomad who only brought so few clothing on him, participated as well, and at the end of the day, both Jaune and Amber had a decent amount of clothing they can wear on their housing in Beacon Academy, most of which would be shipped directly to the Academy.

It was in the afternoon when the three walked towards a tailor shop as planned. "Knight's Tailor?" Amber asked with a raised eyebrow before she smiled, "That's a clever name. Is this where every suit worn by your Huntsman Professors came from?"

"Not all." Glynda answered, "Among our colleagues, only Ozpin, Peter and I use their services frequently." She gestured to her usual clothing, "This is one of their works. They are expensive, but for regulars, they can give discounts," She turned to Jaune and added, "Even if you want to add personal touches."

"Are personal touches important?" asked Jaune.

"'Individuality and Personal Independence must be reflected through one's clothing.', one of the most famous adage amongst fashionistas, not exactly a social circle I'm fond to be in, but I do agree with the saying." Glynda explained. After all, with her own choice of clothing, one could peg her as a fashionista.

Jaune simply nodded, and the blonde woman was satisfied knowing that he understood and acknowledged her two cents.

Entering the shop, they were greeted by a man manning the counter. As Glynda talked to the man to ask for measurement from their tailor, Amber saw Jaune walking towards a wall where the collection of suits they have made were worn by models and walked to him. A glance at the wall of photos made one side of Amber's lips crease upwards, "All of them look... very fancy."

Stylish and distinctive. She supposed that's how Huntsman are expected to be so as to make it easier to identify them by. After all, they were supposed to be guardians of Remnant.

"My parents told me that it is to make them distinctive. So that everyone knows who to call in a crowd should they need help. That, and as opposed to being uniformed, having wide array of variations in style and color is encouraged among Huntsmen, even in the rigid Atlas." Jaune explained, "It's a way to preserve one's individuality, they said."

"Hm, I suppose that's one way of looking at it." Amber shrugged. "Still, even though you're a Wandering Huntsman, the only distinctive thing you have is your white cape. And even then, you don't use it that much."

"Because I never cared about looking distinctive before." Jaune explained before he added, "Though now that I'm an assistant professor, I suppose I should make an attempt at standing out more."

"So does this mean that the coat's mine now?" she asked with a teasing tone of voice, half-joking half-serious. The coat was actually pretty comfortable to wear.

He turned with a raised eyebrow as he asked, "Do you want them? If so, they're yours."

"Hm..." she mulled over his offer as she hugged herself over the oversized coat. "Nah, I don't want them _that_ much." She said before she added, "Would you let me borrow them from time to time, though?"

"Sure." He answered with a nod, and Amber accepted it with a smile.

Meanwhile, Glynda was now in the back room, talking with the tailor who was not the one she knew and is used to. "So he's decided to retire? It's quite a shame, he did some fine work."

"I can see that." Said the tailor, who was a woman of Glynda's age who also maintained her young looks wearing a long-sleeved white business shirt with black and grey stripes, a pair of black slacks, the image of an office lady was completed with her black hair styled into a bun kept together by a decorative pin that was stabbed through it, yet for some reason, she was barefooted. "Still, that doesn't mean that I'm not incapable, I've been taught by the man for all my life. So, you need to commission a new suit? That one still looks good."

Smiling at the compliment, Glynda said; "No, it's not for me. It's for my new colleague."

"Ah, alright then, let him in, I kinda need a new muse for inspiration, and you professors at Beacon are _very_ inspirational." She said as Glynda nodded and moved outside and called Jaune, leaving Amber behind on the front.

Entering the back room through a draped archway, Jaune saw the tailor's back as she was perusing the catalog book of the cloths they had in hand. "Miss?" Glynda called her over as she turned around, and she stopped at the sight of Jaune, though Glynda didn't seem to notice, "This is my new colleague, Mr. Jaune Arc."

"...K-Knight!" yelled out the woman, catching Glynda off-guard as she looked at the woman who suddenly behaved rather strangely. As if just realizing what she said out loud, the woman's eyes widened, "A-ah! Apologies, I was... Is that really you, Mr. Knight?"

Turning to Jaune, Glynda saw that he simply smiled at the woman before he nodded, "It's been a long time, Ms. Yen."

"Indeed it has!" Yen said as she hugged Jaune before she then looked at him up and down, "You've grown quite tall." She smirked at that, "So, Jaune _Arc_ and an assistant professor at Beacon? You're quite young to hold that kind of position, last time we met, you were still a Wandering Huntsman, no? You're moving up in the world quite fast, I'm impressed... Alright then, Ms. Glynda?"

"Y-yes?" she asked, brought out of her confusion induced reverie.

"I'll give him the couture treatment at 60% Discount." She said, widening Glynda's eyes as a result. Couture treatment meant that he'd be allowed to design the suit together with Yen. Normally, it would be very expensive, but with a 60% discount, it would save Beacon's treasury a lot of money. "My grandfather Ian always told me that to share the position of director-of-design in a job would require either a lot of money or a massive debt of honor. Considering what he did to ensure my safety and that of the precious materials I brought with me three years ago, this is a way for me to say thank you."

She grinned and proclaimed, "Let it be known that Yen Taylor always pays her debts! Not to mention the fact that you have greatness flowing through your veins as an Arc and your heroic tendency helps as well. Knight's Tailor always welcomes such worthy customers. Now! Let's get to work, shall we Jaune?"

* * *

 _Later on..._

Seeing how the Maiden was enjoying the bowl of Neapolitan ice cream lathered in caramel sauce made Glynda smile. For all the power she possessed, the young woman was still, as described, young. The responsibility of being a Maiden must've not allowed her to _be_ a young woman with a normal life.

Maiden's powers were supposed to be transferred to whoever woman that the previous one thought of as she died... An inconsistent, ridiculous method of power transference, if Glynda had to be honest, but then again, it is what it is.

As Jaune was still busy with Yen, Glynda decided to take Amber somewhere good. Across Knight's Tailor was a cafe specializing in their ice-cream, and she thought it was an appropriate place to take the young woman to for the time being.

"This is... absolutely delicious." She said with a sigh, "Thank you for taking me here, I haven't had ice cream since..." she stopped before she shyly lightly scratched her cheek with one finger, "Heh, I... I don't actually remember, it's been _so_ long..."

"...Well," Glynda offered a sad smile, "What matters is that you're enjoying it _now_." She reminded her to bring her back to the present from what must be a painful past.

"Hm." Said Amber with a nod, "You know, now that I remember it, is there... _anything_ that I can do in Beacon? Am I just going to occupy a space in the Vault and not... do anything else?"

The Vault referred to the heavily fortified bunker under Beacon's ground. Unlike Jaune, who, as an assistant professor, occupies one of the rooms available for Professors, Amber lived in the aforementioned bunker. While spacious and well-furbished, it was still an underground safe. "We haven't ruled that possibility out. You could give an input if you really wanted to."

"W-well... I _could_ be a... Okay, look, I know I don't have Huntsman credentials like you, but I _do_ know survival skills. Maybe I could teach that?" she asked, "Huntsmen go on long missions at times in The Wilds, right? I think it's a good course for first years."

"Hm... I suppose that can work." Glynda voiced out her thoughts. "Though if you want to do that, you'd be like Jaune, an assistant professor. Hm... Peach has been looking for one for some time now, I'll recommend you to her if you want."

"Sure thing!" Anything to not be cooped up inside a basement for days with nothing productive to do.

Separated a few feet away from them was a petite young woman with fair skin and hair colored in pink and brown along with a set of clothing that accentuated her rather blessed figure and adorned with the colors of what appeared to be her favorite ice cream flavor, which she was eating.

Unlike Glynda's purpose in coming to the cafe, her purpose was two-fold. Firstly, to eat the same Neopolitan ice cream lathered in caramel sauce that Amber was also eating. Secondly, to watch for the blonde man she saw entering Knight's Tailor.

Her hetero-chromatic brown and pink eyes kept on switching as she blinked and watched over both the tailor shop and the deputy headmistress of Beacon along with who she was with. A look of cautious interest was on her face as she kept her vigil while eating the incredibly delicious ice cream.

Of course, with Glynda being a Huntsman, the observation was a two-way street. Both women were keeping an eye on each other, with both of them wondering what the other was doing. Though on the outside she remained cordial and conversing with Amber, she made sure to keep tabs on the stylish petite woman.

It was a couple of minutes later, after Glynda and Amber talked about the possibility of her being hired as a teacher of survival skills that Jaune finally entered the cafe and quickly went to Glynda and Amber, the latter of whom greeted him with a smile and said; "Hey Jaune. Finished with the designing?"

"Yeah, the first set should be finished within two days." Answered Jaune, and to Glynda's raised eyebrow, he added, "Apparently, she's quite inspired. She's working on it right now and planned to make at least three more of them after it's properly fitted."

"Hm, it seems she inherited that from her grandfather as well." Glynda said, referencing Ian as she gestured to her clothes, "When he designed and made this for me, he did it within a day. Said that I was an excellent muse."

"Really? She also said pretty much the same thing actually." Said Jaune with a smile, "So, did I miss anything?" he asked Glynda and Amber.

"Well... there might be a possibility that I'll also be a teacher, an assistant professor like you." Said the young woman.

As the three of them easily fell into an animated conversation, the girl with bi-colored hair began to focus her sight on the blonde man as she ate her ice-cream, never did she remove her eyesight from Jaune while her hand moved automatically to feed herself.

After she ate her fill, she called one of the waitress, pointed at the ice-cream, the ice cold strawberry milkshake and then at Jaune. Having been a frequent customer, the waitress knew what she meant and so she nodded and walked towards him.

"Sir, the woman there said the bill's on you." Said the waitress, prompting Jaune along with Amber and Glynda to turn and see Neo sucking on the straw that accompanied her glass of strawberry milkshake while still looking at Jaune with her bi-colored eyes which were alternating the two colors every time she bilnked.

"Jaune, do you know her?" Glynda asked, frowning at the very petite woman.

"...I don't know her name." Jaune said, maintaining eye contact with the small woman. "But we _have_ met before." He said before he turned to Glynda and asked her, "Can I ask you to pay for it, Glynda?" he asked, to which she nodded, and then he stood up and walked to take a seat across the petite woman.

The woman removed her small, perky lips from the straw and make a smile as she waved at him by waggling her fingers alternatively. "Hey." She greeted him, "Three years... You're a lot bigger than when I last saw you."

"And you're still the same size." He returned her remark with a small smirk.

"Well, blame me for no longer being at that still-growing age." She grumbled though not with anger in her tone of voice. "So, an assistant professor at Beacon, hm? You're certainly moving up in the world. A far cry from being a Wandering Huntsman living his life in The Wilds."

"What about you? Still under someone's thumb?"

"Looking for a way to get out, thank you very much." She replied back, still without any trace of anger in her voice, but this time it was laced with annoyance.

The answer caused Jaune to raise his eyebrow, and she simply smiled, "It's one of those times, you know? When the monotony of life sort of just... catches up with you."

"A monotony in the life of crime? Who would've thought?" Jaune asked rhetorically with sarcasm in his tone.

"Like anything in life, some things just get... boring after the same thing's been repeated enough times." Said Neo before she sighed, "Not to mention the man himself is... Well he's barely bearable as a boss, nothing I couldn't handle of course, but if I didn't owe him for a lot of things, I wouldn't find myself being pulled back so strongly."

"Oh come now, don't act as if you don't enjoy what's thrown your way once or twice."

"Oh, not saying I don't _enjoy_ that." Neo said with a smirk, "I find some fights and daring escapes here and there very enjoyable, but lately... Something about this no longer feel as right as it used to." She shot a displeased look at him as she said; "Must be _your_ influence."

"Hey, all I asked is that you should look for some other outlets to use your skills on." Jaune said with a shrug.

"Ah, see that's the thing, what you did was offering me a glimpse of something _more_ beyond what I've become familiar with." She waggled her extended index finger left and right as she clicked her tongue, "Ck ck ck, don't think that such ideas are harmless. Ideas are contagious... and persistent. Once it got in my head, I simply... couldn't get it out."

"Then did you at least try?"

His question caused her to clam up for quite a long while as she became contemplative. After that, she shrugged and said; "Trying something new's not really my style, I'm comfortable where I am."

"Yet not as much anymore, and you _want_ to get out."

Now she looked at him with anger in her eyes. Even if it was small, it was apparent, "... I blame you, you know? I blame you for being the only enemy I have so far that I truly respect, I blame you for being so powerful that you forced me to retreat all by yourself, I blame you for making me like you so much that I actually bothered to talk to _and_ with you."

After a rather long tirade from her, she took a deep breath before she continued, "But I admit it... I _do_ want out." She looked to her side and said; "I know he wouldn't mind, he's more than capable of taking care of himself, but... hmph." She scoffed as a mirthless smile appeared on her face, "If it weren't for this damn conscious that I thought I don't have..."

Neo shook her head as she stood up, "It was nice to meet you... Jaune." She smiled at him, one that didn't seem fake, "It's nice knowing your name."

She walked away from him and went to the door then, bu she stopped when Jaune said out loud, "Just ask for his permission." He advised her, "If he respects you enough, he'll allow you to leave, but if not, then leave anyway, because that means he doesn't respect you enough to make your own decision."

He then turned to face her back and added, "After you do that, come find me. Let's have a more pleasant talk." he smiled as he said, "As former enemies."

Though he couldn't see it, the woman smiled before she schooled her face and turned to face him, "The name's Neo by the way. Neopolitan." She nodded and allowed herself to see a small glimpse of the bright smile that she had when her back was facing his, "We'll talk soon."

He nodded back, and Neo left the cafe. Jaune shook his head before he returned to Glynda and Amber at the other table and took his seat. At their inquisitive gaze, he shrugged and said, "We were... catching up on each other's lives."

"...Is there something that we should know, Jaune?" asked Glynda with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Maybe later." Jaune answered, "After she gets her life re-organized. For now though..." he looked at the bowl of Neapolitan ice-cream and with a smile, he asked Amber, "Can I?"

"O-oh! Sure, here." She said as she gave her spoon to him.

He scooped the ice cream, deliberately taking all the three flavors along with the caramel sauce before he ate it in one go. After he gulped the contents, he smiled at the lingering taste which he deemed...

"Delicious."

* * *

 _Later on that afternoon..._

Her lilac-colored eyes watched over her sister as her petite form was struggling to carry the tools and weapon mods she had just bought. Yang Xiao Long was inwardly squeeing at the sheer adorableness that her sister was showing, while outwardly, she chuckled at her insistence on carrying it by herself.

"Rubes, if you need help, all you need to do is just ask, you know that, right?" asked Yang as her unruly long mane of a blonde hair shook while she was shaking her head at her sister's antics.

In response, her sister's silver-colored eyes remained closed shut tightly as she tried so hard to keep on lifting the bags she was holding on her hands while she was shaking. "I...! I got this sis...!"

Her sister always tried to present herself as ever-capable and independent. Which, when one juxtapose with her appearance, made for a rather comedic image.

Ruby's short black hair with red color on its tips then shadowed her face as she went into a hunching position as the weight of the bags she was carrying began to overcome her. "Uuuuu...! I-I can... do this...!"

Yang simply crossed her arms and waited. It might be a bit petty of her, but she won't help unless she's asked to. Though her sister was still rather weak and trying to appear strong, she knew that sometimes, one needed to push themselves.

"I... go-!" she got the wind knocked out of her when her knees finally buckled and she fell hard on her face. "...Owie..."

This time, Yang did help her as she lift her sister up and took one of the bags. "Oof! Damn, you should've asked help from the start, sis!" she exclaimed.

"Eeeh..." Ruby moaned as pushed herself up with great effort before she picked up the other bag. First she attempted it with one arm. When it won't budge, she then used two of them. "Uuh...! I should've had this shipped instead..."

"Then why didn't you, sis?" Yang asked.

"...I want to make sure nothing gets lost in the shipping..." she said.

Yang sighed, understanding her sister's concerns. Even though she was not as zealous in weapon maintenance as her sister was, she had some moments in which she try not to get anything wrong with the order nor in quality so that her Ember Celica can continue to work as intended.

When one considered that her weapon, a pair of Shotgun-Gauntlets, were, in design, much simpler and more managable than a Scythe-Sniper Rifle hybrid, perhaps her sister's zealousness could be understood. Still, at times, her sister really need to understand that help was only a request away.

"You look like you need some pick-me-up sis. It's almost lunch time anyway, c'mon, let's grab a bite to eat before we get back, my treat." Yang said as she led her sister to the nearest restaurant. "There, let's have some pasta! Oh I'd love me some spaghetti right now..."

"...Sis, is this more for me, or you?" Ruby asked with a slight frown.

"What, you don't like pasta?" Yang asked with a rather cheeky smile.

"No, it's just-" Ruby's complaint was interrupted by the growling sound that her stomach made before she sighed and said; "Fine... let's go get some spaghetti."

With glee that betrayed to whom the lunch was _really_ meant for, Yang led Ruby to the restaurant Yang had decided to go to, the small, homey one one named 'Trussard's', which seemed to be opening just today.

After a lot of courses given to them, beginning with the appetizers to the dessert, the two sisters exited the restaurant, both with contentment apparent on their expression. Ruby herself had to admit that after eating several helpings, she did find herself energized and was now having an easier time lifting the bag.

"Wow! I didn't expect it to be _that_ good!" Yang exclaimed with immense satisfaction as she patted her stomach with her free hand. "We _have_ to get back there sometimes, with that quality and price, everyone's going to know it sooner or later."

"It deserves to have more visitors though." Ruby said as they walked among the citizens of Vale, trying to get to the train station.

"Agreed." Yang nodded way the restaurant will last for a longer time.

The two sisters walked side-by-side as they approached a corner... "Oof!" was the sound that Yang's sister, Ruby, made when she hit a person who was so hardy that she was sent stumbling backwards.

Caught unaware and burdened by the bag she was carrying, Yang was not fast enough to catch her. But _he_ was.

His right arm was on her back, preventing her from falling, "Are you alright?" her savior asked, his arms easily enveloped her, and Ruby blushed at how close the man's handsome face and his big, muscular body was to her own.

Normally, Yang wouldn't let anybody touch her sister so closely, but the man did caught her, and he himself was such that she actually stopped to gaze at him and his musculature. 'My, those biceps...! Someone's been taking a _really_ good care of their body, that's for sure! And he's quite handsome too, a bit baby-faced, but not by much, his face's a lot more masculine than most baby-faced men... Definitely very well-balanced between cute and hot.' she thought as a small grin began to form on her face.

"I-I'm alright..." Ruby responded before the man helped her stand upright. "T-thank you, I should've watched where I was going." Ruby apologized with a slight, sheepish bow before she looked at him... And the company he was having. She gasped at the blonde woman a few feet behind him, "Oh... My god!" she turned to the man and whispered while pointing at the bespectacled woman, "Is that really _the_ Glynda Goodwitch? The Deputy Headmistress of Beacon?"

"She is." The man responded with a nod and a smile before he asked, "Are you a fan?" she certainly acted like one.

"You bet I am! Oh I wanna get her autograph!" she immediately went to the rather startled blonde woman who, despite that, indulged Ruby's enthusiastic introduction and admiration with an appreciative yet stoic expression as another one of his company, a dark-skinned, brown-haired woman wearing a rather oversized blue hooded jacket, looked at Ruby with a small smile.

"Hey, big guy." Yang called to the guy who towered over her by at least a head and a half, which was... rather pleasant actually. Being quite tall for a girl her age was cool and all, but that also made it hard for her to find a date who was as tall if not taller than her who was also not a complete tool _and_ was of her own age. "Thanks for catching my sister there, couldn't exactly do it myself with this." She slightly lifted the bag she was carrying.

"It was no problem." He said as he turned to her. This time, it was his turn to stop as he looked at her. He was silent, contemplative and even inquisitive as he looked at her face. A frown then formed on his face as he tilted his head.

After a couple of seconds of rather uncomfortable silence, Yang asked, "Hey, as much as I appreciate being looked at in the eye, there a reason why you're staring?" she didn't mind having her face looked at instead of her breasts by someone she just met, it was refreshing, but what he was doing wasn't exactly polite.

As if broken from a spell, he shook his head, "Oh. Sorry, it's just that... you look somewhat familiar, almost identical to this person I know."

"Really?" Yang asked, having thought that he might've been surprised that she was Ruby's sister due to how different they looked when compared to each other, "Which part of me makes you think that?" she didn't expect him to provide an answer that would shake her very core.

"Your hair, but hers is black." Yang felt something triggered inside her head at that answer, but then he continued, "The shape of your eyes is also similar, but her eye color's red." Yang's lips began to open as she looked at the blonde man with wide eyes, "As for color preference... Hers would fit your sister's, red and black."

'...No. No way, it can't be...!' she remembered the only picture she had ever seen of hers, she remembered her looks and the clothes she wore, and it fit the physical traits that he just listed out, 'This guy...!'

"Do you happen to know a woman named-"

" **Raven Branwen?/."**

At the same time Jaune asked, Yang said her name. Both of them looked at each other in the eye then, lilac meeting blue. Yang's grip on the bag slipped as she grabbed the collar of his short-sleeved t-shirt and pulled him down to her eye level.

"You know who she is..." She said, her voice low, her hair beginning to shine and her eyes changing from lilac to red. "Do you know where I can find her? Tell me." Her voice was demanding and desperate.

Ruby, Glynda and the other woman she didn't know the name of, noticed this the moment she let the bag drop since it was so heavy it made a loud thudding noise as it hit the ground. "Sis?" Ruby asked, a bit shocked at what she was seeing, "Sis, what are you doing?!"

"Can you tell me?" facing the silent and seemingly unaffected blonde man, her desperation increased, "Tell me, please, I-!" she gulped a lump in her throat, "You've met her before, right? I want to know if you can take me to her!" she began to yell as she shook him, "Tell me where I can find her! TELL ME!"

"S-sis!" Ruby vanished into a flurry of red rose petals and materialized behind her sister as she tried to pull her away, but her sister's grip was strong. "C-calm down! This isn't going to help!"

Glynda came to the rescue when she took out her riding crop and with a horizontal swish, she used her Semblance to pull them apart from each other. "Calm yourself down." She sternly ordered the younger blonde woman, "Now, Ms...?"

With her eyes still blazing red, she tried to break free, "Guh...!" she groaned as she tried so hard to M...M-my name's... Yang." When the blonde woman didn't relent, she knew then that she had to give her full name, "Yang Xiao Long!"

"Very well then, Ms. Xiao Long, why did you just do that to my colleague here?" she asked.

"W-wait, you're a professor at Beacon too?" Ruby asked, momentarily forgetting that her sister was being held by Glynda's mind powers.

"Ms. Rose, right now I'm trying to get an answer as to why my colleague was being manhandled." Glynda said, now she was fully in Professor-mode. "I ask again Ms. Xiao Long, why did you do that?"

She trembled as she tried to keep herself calm. Cool minds think better and all that, but it was hard to do that when she was being restrained by an invisible force. "Because... He... Because he knows where my mother is." She answered, "Raven Branwen, she's my mother. She left our dad when I was little." She glanced at the saddened Ruby for a second, "And he's met her." She turned to the man with demanding/pleading eyes, "Please... You have to tell me where she is."

It took a second of silence before Jaune shook his head, "I can't do that. The woman's a nomad with an agenda, I don't know where she _is_." He answered, and Yang felt her hope crushed, "But... I can show you one of her safe houses. The nearest one is just a few kilometers from here, in The Wilds. Glynda," he addressed the Deputy Headmistress, his colleague, as she said, "Am I allowed to do that?"

"...Only after work hours." Glynda answered, "You still need to know the basics of tutoring and we've yet to give you a tour of the school. 6 PM tomorrow is the quickest estimation of when you are allowed to leave."

He nodded before turning to Yang, "Does that sound good to you?"

"Better than nothing." And for once, she really meant that. To know that someone knew her mother and is able to shed some light to how the woman really was made her ecstatic, giddy, yet also anxious. "Fine, I'll wait until tomorrow..." she said as the brightness of her hair dimmed and her eyes turned back to its lilac color, "Now can you _please_ let me go?!"

Though sighing at the disrespectful way Yang asked her, she did what she was told and let go of her, prompting her to roll her shoulders that had been stiffened by Glynda's Semblance. She looked at Jaune with slightly narrowed eyes as she asked, "Give me your Scroll number."

Without protest, the man showed his Scroll and with her doing the same, both of them now knew each other's numbers. Yang quickly picked up the bag she had dropped before, went to her sister's side and said, "I'll tell you where to meet tomorrow. Be there on time..." she looked at the name, "Jaune." Jaune Arc. She committed that name to her memory, "Professor or not, if you don't come, there will be hell to pay." She promised.

"I'll be there." Jaune said with a nod.

Glad that he took her need for any information about her mother seriously, Yang nodded before she grabbed the bag that she dropped and turned to Ruby, "Come on Rubes, let's go home." She began to walk away without waiting for her response.

Ruby stopped and fidgeted for a while before she said, "Um, it was nice meeting you, Ms. Glynda, Mr. Jaune, Ms... Uh..." in all the confusion, she realized that the other woman's name was never said.

"Amber." Said the brown-haired woman with a genuine smile.

"Ms. Amber!" she finished her roll-calling before she raised her hand high and waved as she left, "Go and take care of her, Ms. Ruby." Amber said, and Ruby nodded before she picked up her bag and chased after her sister.

When Ruby caught up with Yang, she saw a look in her eyes that made Ruby think back on their childhood, of the time when Yang, out of desperation to find her mother, took her along for an unplanned journey that... could've cost them their lives. It was the look of determination combined with desperation that was now adorning her face. "Yang...?"

Her sister looked at her, and when lilac meet silver, the former wilted. She looked away, embarrassed to the point of being mortified. "...I'm sorry you saw that, Ruby..." she said, completely honest as her head was tilting downwards, "But... I had to know." She tried justifying her actions.

Ruby's response was to encircle her arm around her waist and scooted closer. "It's okay Yang, I understand..." she said. She truly did. If she were in Yang's shoes, she would've done the same thing.

In response, Yang smiled, though not a carefree grin she was known to have, it was genuine and gentle. She wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulder and said, "Thanks, Rubes..."

Ruby giggled and said; "Hey, we're sisters... It's what we do, support each other."

"Eh~?" Yang grinned playfully, "What is this~? My little Ruby just said something so wise, you _are_ growing up!" she said as she ruffled her sister's black hair before saying, "Still, your size could've fooled a lot of people." She teased.

With a red face, Ruby puffed her cheeks, annoyed at what Yang insinuated. "I'm still growing you know!"

The two sisters walked side-by-side, both of them laughing with each other while one was completely unaware of how the other's laughter was just a cheery facade. Mentally, Yang was being grim and serious, a far cry from her usual demeanor.

Finally, there was someone who knew her mother, her missing mother, and even though he did not know her whereabouts, he knew enough to offer her a trip to one of her safe houses. 'Safe houses, what kind of person have safe houses?' she thought as the first kind of person who would be so prepared that came to mind was of the unsavory type, criminals who had something to hide.

Yang stopped herself from assuming too much with effort. She didn't know anything about her mother, and even though her having safe houses gave the impression that her dad got involved with a criminal, she decided to wait until she had more information.

'Tomorrow can't come sooner...' she thought as she faked a smile to hide her real emotions from her sister.

* * *

 **To be Continued...**

* * *

 **Things develop fast, huh? Raven Branwen, one of the most mysterious characters in RWBY. We don't know her goal, the depths of her personality and why she did what she did with leaving Taiyang and Yang. Still, despite that, she's also one of the most pleasing to look at with her clothes and weapon.**

 **So, like any fanfic made before a character is thoroughly exposed and explored in the source material, I'll be taking a lot of liberty in regards to what kind of character Raven Branwen is.**

 **Now, as to the three anime series that serves as the main sources inspiration for these series, I'll tell you about what elements I've taken from them to make this fic's version of Jaune Arc:**

 **-One-Punch Man: Saitama's power, a part of his costume (his white cape), and some aspects of his personality, which was why Jaune rarely emotes.**

 **-Fate/ Series: Emiya Shirou, how a tragedy in his childhood both re-defined his very being as well as giving him some powerful supernatural ability.**

 **-Jojo's Bizzare Adventure: Stands, which first shows up in Part 3 of the series' (currently) 8 Parts. They are the manifestation of one's soul** ** **that** comes in some sort of form, humanoid or otherwise, in addition to** **giving some sort of supernatural power to its user, which inspired the concept of Mantle.  
**

 **There are other elements from the series I've taken and implemented to this story, but for now, I'm just going to leave you with these. More of them will come in future chapters, and I'm looking forward to showing them to you.  
**


	4. Mother-Daughter Complications

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the original sources from which I made the stories that I publish in this here site.

* * *

It happened one night, at a family dinner with everyone gathered together at a single table. All the experience that Arthur's job as a Huntsman gave never prepared him for his soon-to-be six year-old son announcing an earth-shattering fact just as they finished eating the always-excellent dinner.

"So, does anyone have something they want to share?"

It was an innocuous question, one that his wife meant as a conversation starter, Jeanne often does that. However, it was at that time when Jaune decided that he was going to share something to them, something quite profound.

"I've unlocked my Aura."

His voice was flat, almost emotionless. The scars were still there, invisible to the naked eye, and even though it pained him and his wife, they've accepted that the scars could not be completely healed. However, thoughts regarding all of that were overshadowed by what his statement meant.

"...Jaune, you do know that Aura can only be unlocked by other people, right?" Arthur asked, half-lying, breaking the silence that fell when Jaune said such a thing. Of course, one can unlock one's Aura themselves, but it would take an intense amount of training to be able to do that. Jaune, bless his soul, was still five years old, such a harrowing thing was not something that he's capable of...

In response, Jaune simply looked at him and his wife before he closed his eyes and allowed himself to be shrouded with a white-colored light.

He was not lying. His son, young as he was, has unlocked his Aura. "Jaune, who helped you do that?" he asked before his eyes and that of his wife's turned to look at his older sisters, who all shook their heads.

"I didn't ask anyone." Jaune answered before he fell silent for a few seconds, as if contemplating about something, then said, "I just forced it out."

"Jaune, be serious here, what did you do?" His wife took a turn in asking Jaune, asking a question that he would've asked himself. After all, Aura couldn't just be _forced out_.

"I simply..." Jaune trailed off as he looked at his hands, "Pull it. It was there, inside, and..." the white aura brightened then as it began to envelop the room, forcing the others to close their eyes and shield them with their arms.

When it was dim enough, they all saw that Jaune was closing his eyes, willing the light to die down, and it did, it receded into himself and faded away. When he opened his eyes, he said; "I just thought you ought to know."

Arthur and Jeanne shared a look as their thoughts revolved around their only son. "Jaune..." Jeanne began as she turned to look at him, "Since when have you felt this... pull?"

The feeling of using an Aura was exactly like that, a force that pulled one's mind in as the mind pulled it out in return, a reciprocating relationship in which neither of the two were the dominant. To call upon Aura required one to train extensively, with those who were capable of doing so at the very earliest, who were fourteen years old at the time, were so few that they can be regarded as non-existent.

"Ever since that... that day." He answered, referring to the event that caused him to lose his memories from before he was five, "It took me a long time to access it though..."

Arthur wanted to laugh, not out of joy, but as a reaction to the absurdity. His son... he didn't even know that what he just did at his age was a miracle.

Extrapolating his eventual growth from this turn of events shook Arthur. How much more capable will his son be, given time? He clearly had no qualms in hurting himself to become stronger and will continue to train himself in the art of Aura now that he had unlocked it.

For once in his life as a husband and a father, he did not know what to think about his son. His hard-working, driven, yet nevertheless deeply scarred son...

* * *

 **Mother-Daughter Complications**

* * *

The day progressed slower than usual for Yang. Her mind was still focused on that man Jaune Arc and how he would take her to a safe house, one that belonged to her mother, later in the day.

Raven Branwen... The mysterious enigmatic woman clad in red and black, the same set of color that Ruby also favored, the woman who abandoned her and her dad without giving any reason as to why. A woman whom she had no knowledge of and about despite being the one who gave birth to her.

Whether it was when she was stuck in class like hours ago or cooped up in the house as in her current situation, she was restless as she tried to find a way to pass the time that could also conserve her energy.

She didn't know why she did that herself, she's not exactly waiting for a scheduled fight between her and her mother, but she felt that she needed to keep it all in until then, until the moment when that guy Jaune would take her along for the ride.

The moment she was allowed to leave Signal, she quickly messaged the man, saying...

 _-Meetup at Junior's Club northside of Vale, Commercial District, 6 PM on the dot dont b late!-_

A familiar place to meet up, from which they could go to wherever the safe house was. Hell, she'd even bring Blazing Bumblebee along just in case the guy doesn't have a personal vehicle. It can be safely said that Yang was looking forward to this meeting.

"Uh, Yang, are you really watching the TV or can I have the remote?" Ruby asked from her left, both of them were sitting on the sofa in their house's living room as they watched the flat screen of their TV. Of course, Yang, who had been too preoccupied with her own thoughts, hadn't the foggiest idea what was on the screen.

"H-huh? Oh sure, here..." she said as she gave her sister the remote.

After changing the channel to a cartoon-filled one, her little sister turned to her and asked, "Hey, Yang... You're going to go with that Jaune guy later, right?"

Looking at her younger sister's silver eyes filled with concern made Yang grimace. The topic of her mother would always cause the 'reliable sister' Yang to leave and to be replaced with the 'insecure' Yang. "Yeah... Why, Rubes?" She knew about it already, so why was she asking?

"...C-can I go with you?" the question was asked with hesitance, but the way her eyes focused on hers conveyed her unwillingness to back down. "I-it's not because I don't trust you or anything, I do, but... I want to make sure that..."

"What, that I don't get in trouble?" Yang asked with a smirk that she didn't really feel, "Jeez, sis, have a little faith in me, won't ya?"

"No no, it's not that, I just want to make sure that you'll have someone familiar along with you." Ruby said with slight nervousness, "I-I can see how you change every time mom, mom Raven, is mentioned." the nickname was to differentiate between Yang's mother and her own, "We're sisters, right? Something like this... I want to be there for you."

Yang's eyes softened as she hugged her, "Oh Ruby... never change, you hear me?" she softly whispered. "Still, I have to say no on bringing you along, Rubes."

Ruby pushed her sister slightly to look her directly in the eyes again, "Why not?" she asked with a pout.

"Because... this is very personal to me." She answered, barely winning against the pleading eyes that Ruby must've done on purpose. "Even if it isn't likely that I'll meet my mom, this is something that I need to do alone. I'm sorry Rubes, but I can't take you."

Looking at her sister's face, it was clear to Yang that she was trying so hard to not push the matter further. By Oum, her sister was trying, which made the look all the more unbearable for her. "A...A-alright..." her sister said before she extended her index finger upwards, "B-but... what if... I... Come along with you?"

Yang snorted in response to Ruby's question, "Ruby... that's not how this works, you know?" Yang asked wryly, "I said that you can't, I gave you the reason why, I'm _not_ going to bring you along."

"Well, I-I'm just worried..." she justified, "Are you _really_ sure I can't come with?"

"I'm sure, Rubes. And besides..." she ruffled Ruby's hair, prompting her to puff her cheeks outward, pouting at the treatment, "If you're there too, then I'll have another person I need to keep watch. I mean, I don't exactly trust this Jaune guy myself, you know?"

"Yang, I can use a scythe that's almost as heavy as you as a weapon, I'm not a helpless girl!" Ruby indignantly yelled, "And if you don't really trust him, then won't it be better if you have someone to back you up?"

Her logic was sound, but when it's something that was _this_ deeply personal to her, she couldn't, in good conscience, allow Ruby to come along. "And I, little red," her nickname was used to emphasize her status as a little sister, "can take care of myself just fine. Just trust me, okay?"

Slowly, the will to continue fighting for this cause of hers dwindled, Yang could see it in Ruby's silver eyes. "...Fine..." she relented but not before saying the last warning/advice; "But don't be reckless, okay?!"

"Rubes, I'll be _fine_." She emphasized the word as she gave her sister the rough-housing treatment by wrapping one of her arms around her neck and held her close, perhaps too close, to her sizable chest. "I'm your big sister, remember? _I'm_ the one who's supposed to do the worrying _for_ you, not the other way around."

Though it pleased her that Ruby was quite mature in that regard, this was something that she needed to see to alone... Well, in this case, alongside a really hot blonde man whom she didn't know much about.

Either on paper or verbally, the sentence didn't sound like a good idea... Still, this was the most solid of a lead to her mother she ever had. Whatever risks there were, she'll face them head-on.

* * *

 _Later on..._

The roar of a black and yellow motorcycle passing by other vehicles on Vale's road signaled Yang Xiao Long's swift approach towards Junior's Club, a night club which she frequented at least once every two weeks or a month.

It was ten minutes past six, a bit late for the meetup, and considering her demand for Jaune to be punctual, it would make her seem like a hypocrite. Still, there's a reason why there was a term 'fashionably late.', and Yang simply exercised her right to do exactly that. After all, it took her a while to prepare herself.

There was her checking Ember Celica, then there was her taking care of her hair... There were a lot of process involved in her preparation, even more so than usual considering that this time, she was going to the club not to search blindly, but to rendezvous with a person who could tell her about her mother and taking her to a place where she would get a more accurate image of her.

To say that she was excited would be... inaccurate, but close. Anxious was also close, so was furious and apprehensive... Her mother, Raven Branwen, was a subject which would elicit a lot of negative emotions from her.

One way or another though, this time there will be some sort of compensation for this. Closure was still far away, that was something only _she_ could give, only _she_ could give a real answer as to why she left, abandoning her and her dad. No, the compensation won't be as satisfying... but the thought of it was good enough to drive her.

Minutes later, she parked the Blazing Bumblebee in the parking lot of the club, which was already noisy. After taking off the helmet and the jacket she had worn and putting them on the trunk beneath the bike's seat, she walked towards the front door, already seeing a line of people waiting to enter...

And he was there, leaning back against the wall, his hands on the pocket of his black trousers, his arms completely covered by the blue long-sleeved t-shirt he was wearing and when he saw her, he said, "Yo." As he pushed himself off the wall and stood up straight.

'Still really intimidating... _And_ distracting.' The blue t-shirt he wore did almost nothing to hide his sculpted statue-like figure. "Hey... Been waiting long?" she asked, trying to break the ice.

"Not _too_ long." He answered, acknowledging that he had been on time while she was quite late, but didn't make a big deal out of it. "Do you want to head out now?"

Straight to the point, hm? Though she wanted to, she needed to know what kind of man she was dealing with here. "Actually, let's go inside for a bit, have some drinks, they're on me. Whaddya say?" she asked.

His eyebrows were raised, a sign that he didn't expect this to be an outing for fun. "I don't drink." He answered.

"...Really? Not even a little bit?" she asked with a frown yet also an amused smirk, "What are you, a monk? You're not bald though..." kinda hard to imagine that head without the blonde locks of hair.

"I just don't like alcohol." He shrugged, "Still, why do you want us to get some drink? Considering how you reacted when I said your mother's name, I thought you'd want to get this over with."

"Well, let's just say that I'd need a couple of drinks to get a bit loose." She answered before she stopped as she realized what she said, "Not in _that_ way though, this isn't exactly a date."

"...Alright." the man said with a shrug before he looked at the line, "Still, there are a lot of people in line... It's only six o'clock, is this place really that famous?"

"Not really, but you know the saying; 'The early party-goer gets drunk the earliest'." She said as if she just dispensed a word of wisdom.

"I've never heard of the saying." Jaune stated with a flat tone.

"Well, you don't drink, so I assume that you never go into one of these places, so trust me, it's a thing, and it's quite popular among party-goers." Yang shrugged as she went to the bouncer, showed off a card to him and allowed her entrance, "And now we've got quick access, come on."

Ignoring the indignant shouting from those still waiting in line, both blondes entered to the club which was already in full-swing. Immediately, Yang went to the bar, and addressed the tall, burly, bearded bartender, "Hey Junior! A strawberry sunrise for me and... Whaddya want?" she asked Jaune as both of them took two stools in front of the bar among nine to sit on.

"I'll have a strawberry milk mixed with soda." Said the older blonde.

"Unusual request, but alright." Said the bartender named Junior, "So blondie, who's this other blondie here? Your boyfriend?" he asked.

Evidently, both of them knew each other well enough to call themselves with nicknames, and despite the age difference, they _do_ know each other well, with Yang having frequented the place often ever since she turned sixteen, "Nope, not really, he's more of a... hired helper." Yang answered.

Junior simply grunted at that before he gave the orders, a strawberry sunrise for Yang and a strawberry milk soda for Jaune. "Now, you here on business or fun?" asked Junior.

"Business, but with him only." Yang answered as he pointed her thumb at Jaune.

A look of relief appeared on his face as he let out a small sigh. "Alright then, I can see that I'm needed elsewhere..." he trailed off as she moved himself a couple of steps away from the two blondes.

Yang drank the drink, "Ahhh~! That's the stuff..."

"I noticed that you showed your Huntress License back there." Jaune began the conversation, his milk soda hasn't been touched as of yet, "Except that you don't look like one... Whose was it?"

"Oh? Underestimating me are you?" she challenged half-seriously as she knew that he had a point, but it was only assumption, right? How could he tell that she's not a full-fledged Huntress as of yet?

"Not really, but you don't look like one." Answered Jaune, "I know a Huntress or a Huntsman when I see them, and you don't have that look about you."

"What kind of look?" she challenged further, a bit curious as to what it was that sold her out.

"The look that you've gone through a lot of near-death experiences and severe loss, either something you have or someone you cherish." He answered bluntly.

At that, her will to challenge him, to goad him further, was gone, replaced by uneasiness. "...It was my mom's. She left it behind when she... " She was silent for a few seconds before deciding to move away from that topic to answer his question directly this time, "I just have someone copied it and changed the names and stuff and plastered my own photo on it."

After his nod of acknowledgement, he began to drink his milk soda and there was a tense silence for a couple of seconds before he put the glass down, at which she said, "I forgot that you're actually a Huntsman, a Professor Huntsman even, _of course_ you would know I'm not a Huntress at a glance." She chuckled mirthlessly, as if she was chiding herself for having forgotten that fact.

She cleared her throat then before she drank more of her Strawberry Sunrise, "Ah~! Alright, so... Let's talk about you, Mr. Jaune Arc. We only know each other for... not even a day, and yet you're willing to help me out? What's your deal, what do you want to get out of this?"

Quid pro quo and all that, Yang expected him to ask for a compensation. "...She's your mother, yeah?" he asked, and with a frown she nodded with a 'yeah', which prompted him to continue, "Then my 'deal' is simple: I know her better than you, so I'll shed some light on what kind of person she is for you because you deserve to know."

...Simple altruism? That's all? Yang could barely believe that to be true. "...That's it? You don't want anything at all besides letting me know what my mom's like?"she asked, a bit surprised by his answer.

"Not really." Jaune said, completely being truthful, "So? Is there something you want to ask about your mother?" he asked.

What should she ask first? Considering that she was not talking directly to her but to someone who _knew_ her, she supposed that asking 'Why did you leave' was not appropriate, so she asked the next best thing, "...What's she like? I mean, what stands out the most with her personality?"

Jaune took another gulp of his milk soda before he answered, "Her cynicism stands out the most." He gave the answer with a pronounced frown on his face, "Her prickliness comes in close second. Then the third in line is her ruthlessness. Against specific type of people, it's almost to the point of heartlessness."

...Not exactly something that a daughter wanted her mother to be like. But then again, considering that she left her and her dad without even a parting word when she was still so so small, she didn't expect her mother to be a shining ray of sunshine either, not like her other mother from Ruby's side.

It still hurt though, the idea that her mother was _that_ kind of person. She quickly drank the Strawberry Sunrise to completion. This time, the taste didn't really affect her mood that much. "Jeez, you don't hold back, do you?" she said, intending for it to be a sarcastic remark that would lighten up the mood.

It did slightly, as Jaune faintly smiled, "There are times when I'd hold myself back. Talking about someone that I... Well, let's just say that your mother and I don't really see eye-to-eye on many things." He revealed, "Talking about people like her makes me feel a bit looser."

'Huh...' it seemed that she wasn't the only blonde at the bar who had issues with one Raven Branwen, "...Out of curiosity, what problems do you have with her?"

"We have different mindsets, mostly in the philosophy that we try to live by." He answered, "She's the cynic to my idealist, so to speak."

"...Idealist, huh?" she wondered out loud. Rarely would someone describe themselves as an idealist, not even Ruby, whom she knew to be the most idealistic person in the house if not all of Vale, "So what, you're a goody two-shoes type? Not that that's a bad thing..." she remarked.

"I guess you can say that. Your mother and I are polar opposites, so..." He trailed off, "So, after what I told you about her, you still want to meet her someday?"

"Hell yeah." She answered without hesitation, "Hearing about it from someone who knew her is good and all, but meeting, or in this case, visiting one of her places to crash is better. Nothing reflects a person better than the place they live in, even if it's... a safe house." She went a bit quieter at the word, "Say, is she... you know, a criminal? I mean, what kind of person has safe houses? Plural, even?"

"...Not exactly a criminal." Was Jaune's only answer before he descended into silence.

Ambiguous answer. Something that truly rattled Yang whenever she heard it. "Is there anything more you can tell me?" she asked with slightly gritted teeth.

"All I can tell you is that she frequently deals with things that are morally ambiguous." He answered before he added, "But I suppose you can say that to most Huntsmen and Huntresses who chose to deal with human matters instead of turning their weapons against the Grimm."

She frowned at that but didn't deny what he said. Huntsman, Huntress, these were the names of an occupation that is supposed to serve humanity to combat the darkness. Yet most of them chose to earn more money by dealing with organizations that might or might not fighting for a good cause instead of fighting the enemy which their occupations were created to combat against. Pragmatic, understandable, but those Hunters have forgotten the original purpose for which the job was created in the first place.

Even Yang herself chose to walk the path of a Huntress not to dedicate her life to fight Grimm, but to be able to fight better so that she won't ever be caught helpless and terrified again as she tries to find her mother in addition of getting a steady income. Not exactly the most noble of goals, she was not like her sister Ruby, who chose the same path to try and help people, save the world, dispense righteous justice on bad guys and all that.

A sense of sudden realization overwhelmed her for a moment as she connected that part of her mother to herself in her mind, '...Seems I took after her more than I thought.' Her mother was apparently a cynic that Jaune could not agree with, and she too hid her cynical side every time Ruby's near, being the bright beacon of idealism that she was, 'Which she took after _her_ mom...' she remarked. Yang was adamant that Ruby remained pure, and there was always a part of her that considered the world to be cruel and if pushed too far by it, she had no idea whether or not she could ever have faith in it again.

"Anyway..." Jaune's voice brought her out of her reverie as he asked, "Do you want to get more drinks or should we go now?"

After looking at the empty glass in front of Jaune and then to her own, she sighed as she stood up and he quickly followed. She brought out her scroll and quickly paid for the beverages. "Let's go." Was all she said before she left...

Both of them didn't notice how some of the security cameras within the club were focusing their sights onto them, as if controlled... Except that no one was actually on the control panel as they moved.

When they saw the sky having been darkened by the sun's absence and replaced by the broken moon, they knew that they've been there for longer than anticipated. "C'mon, I brought my bike, you tell me where to go." She said.

"Fair enough." Jaune said with a nod.

Sometime later, the black and yellow bike was roaring its engines again as it coursed through the city of Vale at high speed, this time with two riders on top, one helmeted while the other was not. After passing by many vehicles along the way, they finally reached their destination.

In front of them stood a large gate, the size of a three-story house made of steel. To protect the city from Grimm, security measures like these were commonplace in the Four Kingdoms, walls and gates built to protect its citizens from harm.

Guarded by a number of people in uniform, Yang knew that this wasn't going to be easy. "Using the card trick here won't work... I tried that once already, it... didn't work out the way I hoped." she admitted sheepishly before she turned to the taller blonde, "So, any ideas on how to get out?"

His response was to look away for a moment, towards a spot along the high wall, "We're going to jump." He said as he walked away.

Staggered, it took Yang a moment before she recomposed herself and chased after him, "W-wait, what?" she asked as she stopped at his right and walked at his pace. "Jump? The wall's like, twenty meters tall! How do you suggest we do that?!"

" _You_ don't need to jump." Jaune said as they were now quite separated away from the gate, "Only _I_ need to." He then turned his back to her and pointed at it with his right thumb, "Hop on."

Very bold, yet he spoke with complete confidence. It was not simple, empty bravado, Yang have been around boys of varying characters to know the type, and Jaune Arc did not feel like _that_ to her. Cautiously, silently, she conceded as she hopped onto his back and let him grab her thighs to strengthen his hold.

'Jeez, he didn't even flinch when I did it, how built is-' she stopped as she grabbed onto his shoulders. Subconsciously she squeezed them a bit and a wide smile formed on her face, '...My my, Yang likey~!'

"Hang on tight." Said Jaune.

"Eh-?" was all she could say before Jaune jumped high and far, passing by the wall with ease and still going as they were airborne and heading towards the Wilds. Midway, Yang screamed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, and as they began to fall, the walls of Vale was now far behind them.

"Holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit-!" Yang kept on cursing as she saw the ground closing in, "SsssssssssshhhhhhiiiiiiiiIIIIIIIIIITTTT-!" she closed her eyes and braced for the impact that was surely to come by burying her face on the back side of Jaune's neck.

She closed her eyes for a second before she felt the wind in her ears coming to an abrupt stop, yet for all of that, she didn't feel the impact. She slowly opened her eyes and immediately went to see if they've landed, which they did, but strangely, Jaune did not create any crater with his jump. "...H-how?"

Jaune removed his hands from her thigh, leaving her to slip down a bit because her arms around his neck became her only support. She quickly removed herself from Jaune entirely after that and she staggered backwards for a moment before she turned to the nonchalant Jaune and asked, "...You... the hell was that?" was all that she could ask.

"I'm strong, that's all you need to know right now." Jaune dismissed the question with a short answer, "The safe house is that way." He pointed to a direction behind Yang, "Southwest from here, about three miles away. Do you want to walk, or do you want to jump?"

"...W-walk." Was Yang's answer, still rather shocked by what just happened to her. "I-I don't think I can take another jump from you." She added with complete candor before she slowly grinned and said; "Still, as _bizarre_ as that was... That was actually pretty amazing. Though don't think that I'm satisfied with that answer." She playfully warned as she pointed her right index finger at him.

"Never thought that for a second." He said, implying that he knew beforehand, either from experience or he was simply _that_ insightful. "Come on."

With that both blondes walked. Usually The Wilds, especially areas near a city, was too dangerous to be traversed at night due to how Grimm could ambush you from the dark. However, as of recently, the Grimm presence has died down worldwide... At least that's what Yang knew to be reported by the media.

She didn't really believe it at first of course. The Grimm had always been a constant presence that just _loomed_ over everyone. Even if most people hadn't seen a Grimm in their life, they _knew_ of them and the danger they represent. Otherwise, the Four Kingdoms wouldn't have goddamn walls.

However, after some daring attempts to see if it were true or not, she found it that, for the most part, it was indeed the truth.

The Grimm has been pushed back somehow. The reports on the news never said the specific people or group who were responsible for some reason, but it was now an undeniable fact.

A fact that was further proven as they walked for what felt like hours, in the dark of night illuminated by the broken moon, and haven't found themselves beset by Grimm of any kind, even the common Beowolves. 'Something like this would only be stuff of dream a couple years ago...' she remarked before she turned to the man leading her, "Hey, we there yet?"

"Just a couple hundred meters more." He answered.

Short and to the point. Normally, Yang wouldn't have a problem with that kind of answer, but considering the situation, she needed some sort of reprieve, she needed a good ice-breaker. "So..." she began, "Wonder where all the Grimm are?" she asked out loud, baiting for a conversation.

"...I don't know." He answered, "Haven't you heard that Grimm presence are at an all-time low lately?" he asked rhetorically.

"Well, even if that's true, that shouldn't stop one or two Grimm here and there from popping up, you know?" she asked rhetorically, "I mean, where's the usual Beowolves or Ursai native to Vale? We've been walking for a while, and everything's rather quiet."

"Save for the cicadas."

Indeed, there were shrill chirping of the insect here and there that served as a background noise. "You know what I mean." She retorted.

"Not saying that I didn't." He swiftly answered back, "All across Remnant, Grimm has become rather scarce. Where they are, I really don't know."

She nodded at that for a second and then they fell into silence again. Midway however, her mind caught on to his wording, 'Did he take my question seriously? I mean, isn't it obvious that the Grimm are gone because a large number of them have been eradicated?' She thought about it for a moment before she mentally shrugged, 'Ah well, maybe he's one of those guys who don't know a rhetorical answer when they heard one...'

Deeming that to be done, they continued on until finally, the safe house was there...

"...Her safe house... is a cave?" she asked as she looked at the hole on a rather tall cliff that loomed over them. "I kinda expected a safe house to be... you know, a safe _house_."

"In a forest? It'd look suspicious." Jaune immediately answered, "Let's go inside before you make any other remark. For all that I don't like about your mother, she's a very resourceful person." He added, "So wait until we're inside."

Under his commanding tone, she relented. It was as if she was hearing her dad talk whenever the old goofball of a man decided to be serious. His tone, like her father's at that state, was rather subdued, but nevertheless carried a sense of authority to it, '...Except that he doesn't feel like leveraging his status as an older guy.' She added to herself, noting that, _unlike_ her dad, the charismatic commanding presence just _oozed_ out of him without him _trying_ to.

"Are you a natural at this or have you been trained your whole life to be this good?" she asked as they entered the cave.

"What are you talking about?"

"This charismatic _aura_ you got." She said, emphasizing on the 'aura', "And I'm not talking about _that_ aura, but you have this... presence that just makes it easy for me to fall in line, and believe me, if you've known me for long, you'd know how _hard_ it is for me to be even remotely obedient."

He stopped and looked at her for a moment, his blue eyes meeting her lilac ones. Even his gaze was piercing, it was as if he was much closer to her face than he actually was. "...I've never been trained to be like this, I just am." He answered before he resumed his walking.

"Hm, you're one of those people huh?" Yang asked as she followed him.

"What do you mean by 'those people'?"

"Y'know, people who are just naturally good at everything without trying." Yang answered, not accusing, more like an assessment, "Like, natural born prodigy."

He was silent for a couple of seconds before he turned right at a fork in the road said, "In a way, I suppose that's true." He said before he continued, "Like anyone else, I've trained to fulfill my potential and compared to most, mine is greater, so I can say that I was... blessed. But my case is... a bit different, I should say."

"Different how?" she asked before he came to a stop at a dead end.

He turned his head slightly her way while his body was facing the dead end and said, "Maybe at a later time." He answered before he pressed his hand on one of the rocks in the wall and causing the rock on the right side to slide open, "Alright, follow me and don't touch anything."

Her eyes wandered the hallway she now entered. Different than the naturally occurring wall of rock, this appeared to be chiseled to smoothness. Then soon enough, as the state of the walls improved as they went deeper, it was apparent that this part of the cave was artificial. "...Jeez, did she make this?" she offhandedly wondered.

"No, she didn't." Answered Jaune, "This is one of the many secret bases used during the time of the Great War. It either belonged to Vale or other Kingdoms, no one knows since it's hard to figure out its origins after everything that could help identifying it is gone when she found it."

"Huh..." Yang hummed out, "So some things from those 'conspiracy history' shows were actually true, then?" she whistled as the rock was making way to concrete, "You don't see this everyday..."

Their descent stopped when they entered a chamber that, once Yang could look at it after Jaune turned on the nearby Dust lantern with his Aura, could be considered as a living room, as good as such a room can get inside what was effectively a bunker. "Very... Spartan-like." Yang remarked, as it was reminiscent to a lobby for a second or third-class hotel, consisting only a battered couch, a couple of wooden chairs and tables and some cabinets, there wasn't even a rug or a decoration.

"Nobody said this was built for comfort." Jaune returned her remark with his own. "Still, what does this tell you about her?" he asked.

That question made her look around the bare chamber, her lilac eyes searching for anything that she could connect to her mother... It was difficult though, as the spacious living room was not decorated in any way that could tell her what she was like. "...What am I looking for, exactly?" she asked back, "This place's so bare!"

"And what does that tell you about her?"

She began to think, hard as it was since she didn't find the activity fun, she tried hard and when she came to the conclusion, her eyes widened slightly as she snapped her fingers, "She's a 'bare necessities only' type of person. She only uses this as a safe house, so she felt no need to add anything to them. She... she doesn't really care about comfort." She looked Jaune in the eye, non-verbally asking him for a confirmation.

"You got it right." Jaune answered, "She's resourceful but very frugal, able to live with minimal provisions as long as she had some sort of roof above her head and sufficient sustenance. When she doesn't have either, she makes them." He then approached Yang and added, "This is just the living room however. Why don't you check the other rooms? I'll wait here."

As he sat on the couch, Yang moved to the other rooms, beginning with the kitchen where, while looked quite ordinary, there were old, rusted utensils left collecting dust, indicating that she rarely, if ever, cooked a meal there. It looked as if nobody's even entered it in decades, which might be literally true.

Then there was the bathroom, which was also normal, not as dusty as the kitchen, indicating that it's used, but when she tried to turn the faucet on the sink, it showed that water no longer flows. Thankfully, mercifully, the bathroom did not stink somehow.

Finally, there was the bedroom, which was as spartan-like as the other rooms were, it consisted of a small bed that did not look comfortable, a drawer and... nothing else. She frowned as the state of the place crafted an image of her mother that she was not comfortable with. An image of an apathetic, hard, cold person.

How could that kind of woman ever got herself involved with someone like her father? Her bright, cheerful and at times awkward father?

When she returned to the living room, she sat beside Jaune at the couch with her arms crossed, her eyes narrowed and her expression gloomy. "...Did she... ever say anything about me to you?" she asked, "I know you said that you two don't get along, but does she ever...?"

Her lilac eyes were uncharacteristically pleading. Had one known her well, one would find it to be so out of character, so alien from her personality, but this was something that she wanted to ask her, and with her nowhere near, she decided to turn to the next best thing: Someone who knew her mother who wasn't her father, someone who would not be hurt by hearing her name.

Blue eyes met lilac as the owner of the former said, "She never did." He answered bluntly, "One more thing you should know about her is that she is very secluded, very private. Maybe it was because nothing that could be related to you ever came up in our conversations, but-"

"Then tell me this," she interrupted, "Have you ever asked her why she's out there? What's her answer to that?" she asked again, as if impatient.

"...She said that she had something that she needed to take care of."

"What kind of something? Is it a business of some kind?"

"It is."

"What _is_ it then?"

"I never asked beyond that. Even if I did, I know she wouldn't answer, so I let it be."

"Did she ever talk about people she left behind while she's trying to take care of this whole bullshit?" she growled out the question.

"...Never. Before you came along, I didn't even know that she had a child, let alone that she was ma-"

He stopped when he saw her clenching her fists so hard it turned white. Her hair and eyes were also changing, the color in her hair was no longer a product of pigmentation reflected by light, but it was now a source of light all by itself, shining brightly like the sun while the color of her eyes changed from the flowery lilac to fiery red.

As fast as she could, she began to channel her built-up rage, all the emotions that she had kept on a tight lid were now bursting out. The idea that her mother was a person so apathetic to herself and by extension, her own daughter, was something that she couldn't handle. She had always thought that there must be a _reason_ as to why she left, a stupid reason, but a reason nonetheless, but the idea that she simply did not _care, or_ that she left her own family without even a thought for the sake of doing something she deemed more important than her daughter and husband...

"-RRRRAAAA! ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA-!"

With a long, repeated battlecry, she began to pummel everything in the room with her shotgun gauntlets, Ember Celica, blasting everything in sight. All the while, Jaune simply walked to the farthest corner away from her, leaned his back on the wall and crossed his arms, as if content on letting things play out as it were.

Yang's rampage spread as the destruction worsened. The bare living room became disheveled and messy as she was adamant in breaking everything apart with her destructive weapon.

It was a way to let off steam, Jaune understood that, and as such, he let her do what she felt she must do, even as the pieces of wall and the furniture she broke grazed him.

Before long however, the whole thing shook, making the still-glowing Yang stop, "The hell is that?" she asked as the shaking continued.

"...Self-destruct mechanism. A trap in case someone decided to fight here." Jaune answered with slightly widened eyes.

As the shaking turned to rumbling akin to that of earthquakes, faster than Yang could see, he went behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and leaped high back-first. From her perspective, it was as if she was being pulled into a tunnel backwards as her take-off point became ever more distant by the second.

She then saw the tunnel changing into a mound of grassy ground that became further and further away... before finally, in an explosive pulse, the grassy ground that was the cliff burst out for a moment as a muffled explosion could be heard way down in the ground and causing a massive cave-in that buried the room they've been underneath tons of dirt.

Her red eyes watched all this with slack-jawed fascination due to how fast she went before she realized that she was taken by Jaune and brought up to the sky. "Gaahaah!" she let out a breath that was forcefully held within her when Jaune wrapped his arms around her waist before she turned her head slightly to look at the blonde man and asked, "What the hell just happened?!" she yelled as they were coming down hard towards the ground.

"The ones who made the base in the first place must've set up some kind of self-destruct mechanism and Raven let it be! I think it's triggered by your tantrum!" Jaune answered, yelling so that his voice can be heard against the whistling wind.

"Oh! Okay!" she accepted that answer before she asked, "Hey, how deep were we in there?!"

"I didn't exactly try to measure, but if I've to say, we were maybe thirty to fifty meters deep! Why?!"

"Just how strong are you to jump so high up through rocks so easily?!" she asked as she began to realize the whole 'falling down towards hard ground at terminal velocity' situation that she was in.

"Strong enough!" was his answer.

"That didn't really answer my questioooooooooonnnnnn!" she closed her eyes again as she turned and hugged herself close to the man who then carried her by her back and legs.

Once again in the same night, as she closed her eyes and in the arms of a man, she didn't feel the loud noise that would've happened if the man had landed using his Aura to soften his fall. When she opened her eyes, she looked at the ground that he was now standing on before she looked at him in the eyes and asked, "...Okay, how the hell are you doing all this?"

His response was to simply let her down to stand on her two feet and then said; "I just do."

"Right, but _how_? _How_ did you become so strong?"

"Training." he answered.

" _Training_ doesn't give you ability to just _blast_ your way through rocks by jumping!" Yang retorted, her eyes still red and her hair still glowing, "You know, I think there's more you know that you're hiding." She accused. "I think you know where that _woman_ is and you're trying to cover for her!"

"Am I?" he asked rhetorically with narrowed eyes, "Or are you just trying to find someone to blame for not liking what you found out about your mother?"

The question was like an arrow that pierced through the gaps in her ribs and hit her right in her heart. The anger began to subside, as shown by her hair slowly dimming its glow and her eyes turning from red back to lilac. The answer to the question was yes, but she needed to know, "Are you though...? Are you covering for her?" she asked.

"Of course not." He answered, "I told you before, we don't get along."

Right. He's not exactly her friend, they just knew each other and he was just being helpful to her. "...Sorry." she said, apologizing for her behavior and what she accused him of doing after everything he did when he could just say no to her.

"It's alright." He quickly waved it off, which, on one hand, made Yang glad that he was willing to let it go so easily, but on the other, it made her feel worse than before for having accused him of something that he was completely innocent of.

In the awkward silence that ensued afterwards, Yang took a look at what was now the ruins of a cliff and, in a moment that she hoped would break the ice, she said; "Well... way to end it with a _Yang_ I guess..." she remarked with a shrug.

What she didn't expect to hear after what she said was a snort coming from Jaune. She swiftly turned her head to look at him and saw him smiling and even chuckling. That has to be him reacting to her pun, right?

"I guess you have a point, though do be careful not to not blow a fuse so easily again." He remarked.

Blow a fuse... Yang snorted back before she chortled so hard that she had to hold her stomach, "Aahahahahaha! Blow a fuse... That-that was a good one." She had to admit as much. "So..." she trailed off as she looked at the destruction she indirectly caused, "Think she's gonna be mad about this?"

"...A bit." Jaune answered with a shrug, "Does it please you?"

"A bit." She returned the answer he gave, "This whole trip makes me like my mother less, and considering how much I _didn't_ like her in the first place, that's an achievement... But now I know more about her, and... I think that's a good thing." She explained, though she sounded unsure, "Right?" she asked, seeking a bit of validation.

"If you think it is, it is." He answered neutrally.

Not really what she was looking for, but she'll take it. With a shrug, she continued, "Well, I guess that's that for this whole adventure... Thanks, Jaune. Even if it wasn't what I hoped it would, you did help me a lot to figure out what kind of person my mother is."

"Think nothing of it, I was just-"

"Nope, not gonna." She quickly said, cutting him off with a grin on her face, "I know that you didn't ask for any compensation before, -save for me paying your drink-, but I'd like to return the favor. Without your help, I would've been buried under all that rubble," She gestured to what used to be a cliff, " and... without your help, I wouldn't know my mom better than before. So... anything you'd like to ask me? And I won't take no for an answer, Yang Xiao Long always pays her debts, especially to people she likes." She said imperiously as she pointed her finger at him.

She stopped for a moment before she added hastily, "But uh, if you want to be paid in sexual favors, I-I need to know how old you are first." Not that she'd mind doing it with an older guy, even if it'd be her first time, but considering her dad's overprotective tendencies, it would be easier if he's not older than twenty-three or, at max, twenty-seven. Doing it with a guy more than ten years older than her was the limit which she wouldn't cross.

"...Not that I'd ask for that, considering that we don't know each other well enough..." he began, which made Yang really glad, as it showed how he wasn't the 'any woman'll do' type of guy, "But just so you know, I'm eighteen years old."

There was a silence for a long while as Yang looked at him up and down with a bewildered look on her face, "You're eighteen? Seriously?"

Jaune sighed, "I know I'm a bit tall for my age..."

"A _bit?_ Have you seen yourself in a mirror?" Yang asked, "'Not just that though, you're really well-built! I thought you're in your twenties or something like that." She then grinned in a manner that seemed to convey mischief, 'Still, not that I mind, if he really _is_ 18, then that means he's free for the taking!'

"No, I am _definitely_ eighteen years old." He answered with complete honesty before he narrowed her eyes at her, "And what's that look in your eyes?"

"What look?" she said, not taking her eyes off of him for even a second.

"The kind of look that makes me think you're undressing me in your head."

"Not that it's hard..." she muttered as she looked slightly downwards, referring to how his t-shirt clung rather tightly to his torso, 'His 'built like a sculpted marble statue' body...' she mentally muttered.

"...Right, let's go back to the city, shall we?" he decided to walk away from what the conversation was developing to be.

Yang simply giggled before she followed Jaune closely, "Prude." She cheekily remarked at him.

"Not even gonna bother with that."

"Aw, c'mon, try it!" she teased with a smile, finding his determination to not let her get to him to be rather cute. "C'mon, say something back." She goaded.

"Nope."

"Prude."

As the two blondes walked away, freely talking to each other all the way to the city about many things, a raven can be seen watching over them for a long while before it flew away, towards the same direction that Jaune and Yang were heading.

* * *

 _Later on..._

The broken moon was at the zenith of its orbit when Yang took off with her bike towards her home after Jaune told her that he would walk to Beacon's Valeside Skyport leading to Beacon. It was a long walk, but he'd get by.

After all, he needed to walk to his _real_ destination.

He walked for a couple of blocks until he found himself on Vale's northern wall, whereupon he jumped over it and landed on the other side, on the edge of the red forest of Forever Fall. He had lied to Yang that he wanted to walk to the skyport. He _needed_ to walk to get here, to meet with someone whom he had sensed when he and Yang were walking towards Vale.

He had an idea as to who it was, but guessed that they did not want to confront him while Yang was with him. Now that he was alone, he knew that they would face him, so he just decided to go to a rather open area to do so.

Then, as if on cue, a long-haired figure came out of the shadows cast by the red trees, illuminated only by the dim light of the moon, the menacing silhouette of the white-masked figure was like that of a ghost or a wraith, a spirit whose existence is fueled by their hatred.

Avian white mask with red markings similar in appearance to a four-eyed Nevermore, an eastern Mistralian dress colored in red and black that hugged her figure and stopped just right when her thighs covered in black thigh-high boots began, long, spiky black hair and a massive sheathe for a very long eastern-style sword which grip she was holding tightly with her gloved hand...

"Raven." He greeted her with a slight nod.

Raven Branwen stood in front of him as if she was ready for a fight while Jaune remained undeterred with his hands tucked in the pocket of his pants. She did not greet him back, her posture and the fact that she was grasping her sword tightly conveyed how on edge she was.

"You-"

She disappeared from his point of view, imploding into a dark shadow and Jaune felt his back struck by a sharp edge of a massive single-edged blade that, instead of cutting him, sent him flying towards the trees of Forever Fall with a massive booming noise.

His body flew northward, destroying trees along the way until he forced his footing down on the ground and skidded himself into a forced stop. His blue eyes were narrowed as he let out a low growl with a closed mouth, as if a person annoyed by a mosquito that just stung him.

He quickly turned back to see her emerging from a black shadow appearing out of thin air with her sword cocked back and its sharp tip ready to strike... And she thrust the sword to his stomach and with a _burst,_ sent him flying again instead of skewering him thoroughly.

Northward of Vale lies the ocean, and the missile of a man that was Jaune skidded into a stop right at the edge of a cliff nearly a hundred meters high whereupon the sea was just below. He half-sighed half-growled and said; "You're feeling rather prickly today, aren't you? What's up?" he asked almost in a casual manner, as if he's _not_ talking to someone filled with the intent to murder him.

In response, she merely materialized herself again, emerging out of a black portal with her single-edged blade at the ready as her red eyes glared at him behind the avian Grimm mask she wore to hide her face with.

"Looking at her, I can see she took quite a lot from you. The hair color though, that's more her dad's, right? Your husband? Remember?" he asked with a scowl, "The family that you left behind?"

"You know nothing of my family!" she screamed as she moved in a burst of speed that made her whole body shimmered, as if she flickered from her previous position to standing just a few centimeters away from Jaune, her blade at the ready to give a two-handed sideward slash.

The edge of her blade met the palm of his left hand however, and it created a reverberating boom that shook the surroundings. He was unmoved and his hand remained unhurt as he grasped the sharp blade tight, "I know quite a bit. Raven Branwen, once wife to Taiyang Xiao Long and the birth mother to Yang Xiao Long, both of whom were hurt by her action."

With a growl, she focused the shimmering, flickering energy she used to attack to her left arm which she removed from gripping her sword and delivered a punch directed at his face.

Despite the speed and thus the force of the attack, it was caught by his other palm, once again, creating a thundering boom as he grabbed her fist tightly, "She told me his name when I asked her as we went back to the city, which I'm sure you know, since you must've followed us for quite a while after your safe house's destruction."

Using her occupied hands, she lifted both of her legs and delivered a double-feet kick to his abdomen that pushed her body backwards. With a twirl, she landed on her two feet and one of her hands. Though deprived of her weapon, she was still ready for a fight.

"I've known long enough that you're quite the callous woman, but even if I didn't think so highly of your weak-ass philosophy, I never thought of you as someone who deemed her family as less important than some mission done out of want."

"This, coming from someone who left his own family at the age of eleven to fulfill his own desire?" he was being an absolute hypocrite if he even suggested what she did was a bad thing.

"I was a _child,_ I was not _responsible_ for the livelihood of one." He answered swiftly, "I was coming to an age where I'd begin to grow up to be a man, and so my choice, though it hurt my parents and sisters, wasn't as damaging as yours. How old was Yang when you left? One? Two? She couldn't even remember your face and had to refer to a photo to know what you look like. Left by a _brother_ you've known long enough can never be equated with being left by a _mother_ you can hardly remember because of it."

He twirled the long sword in his hand to grab it by the handle before he threw it at her, who deftly caught it with one hand and quickly moved into a stance. The slight trembling of her body conveyed her barely repressed anger and frustration, all aimed at the man in front of her.

Raven then spoke, "You're always so intrusive, always involve yourself in things that best be left alone... It wasn't just this, even your whole crusade against the Grimm, as successful as it is, it only creates a void that will be filled with something worse!"

"Are you implying that Yang won't even try to hear your side of the story after this?" he asked, getting to the heart of the matter, not letting her derail the conversation, "Are you scared of that possibility? That her hatred of you will become worse? Are you not cynical, socially stunted and hopelessly callous to everyone to a fault save for very few people, if any, who you actually respect? Are these not the images of you that you want your daughter to know, even when they're true? Am I wrong in letting her come to a correct conclusion?"

Raven gripped the handle of her sword tighter. His questions hit so close to home, and indeed, he was right, she wasn't exactly the friendliest people to say the very least, and if her daughter investigated her on her own and found some clues, she would find it true as well, "You have no right in telling her things that she's not meant to know yet."

"She asked for my help, she was _desperate_ for answers that I have, so I gave it to her without conditions." He said, "It's called basic human decency." Once again, he went for a stab, "And though I did worsen her view of you, consider this: You've left her behind for almost all her life, you have no authority or right in telling _anyone_ who knows you that they shouldn't tell her what they know about you."

Her breathing became even more erratic, a sign that her fury was at its peak. "Always... You're always like this, always trying to help, trying to make things better... Those problems you solved? They will come back, worse than before, and then you'll know that I was right all those years ago."

Jaune scoffed and responded without missing a beat, "Better to have done _something_ to make a difference rather than just accepting the world as it is and ended up never achieving anything worthwhile. As for my past actions come biting back, don't worry... I'll face them head on no matter what. Case in point: You and me, right here, right now. I helped your daughter figure you out more, and you came and attacked me without provocation, so come on then... Either put that sword to use or leave Raven, 'cause I'm not going to run!"

She could no longer retort nor could she deny his conviction and willingness to stand up for what he believed in. Her attacking him was a consequence of his previous action, and true to his word, he's facing her head on. Frustrated with facing someone with equally strong convictions but with different mindsets, Raven could only do one thing to maintain her pride and prove that she wasn't all talk.

She charged.

* * *

 _Later on..._

Having been accustomed to a stable cycle of sleep she herself cultivated, the grogginess and the overall lack of energy she felt as she slowly came to consciousness clued her in that she had been forced unconscious after a particularly exhausting activity.

When she remembered what it was exactly, she couldn't help but to groan in discontent.

"Woken up already?"

His voice, a rather deep baritone for a man as young as he was, echoed in her ears and she squirmed against the soft grass she was lying on. "Where did you bring me?"

"An island far north of Vale." Was his answer, "As to when, you've slept for half a day, it's already noon."

"Nnnh..." she moaned as she sat up and felt her person. "Did you undress me?" she asked with a frown. Her dress was opened wide, leaving only her sarashi to cover her breasts while leaving her stomach bare.

"Only to heal you up."

She grimaced as a memory from last night returned, one filled with pain and screams that came out of her mouth, "Your method is still as crude as ever..."

"Not as if you can't handle it." He retorted, "Are you gonna just lie there longer or are you going to stand up?"

Slowly, she sat up before she opened her eyes. They were on the edge of a beach with the sight of Forever Fall so far on the horizon... So far and so damaged by their fight. The cliff they were on was no longer there and the coastline was littered with rocks made from the destruction of the aforementioned cliff. She sighed and shook her head, "Must we always do this whenever we meet...?" she asked to herself.

"As I remember, you've always been the instigator." Of course he heard her speak and retorted back.

"...And perhaps not without reason." She shot back at the man sitting beside her, leaning back against a palm tree. Unlike her, he did not look worse for wear. "You've barely changed since last I saw you. Mentally, that is."

"I can say the same to you." He said as his blue eyes looked at her red ones, "Both mentally _and_ physically, you're still the same woman I first met five years ago."

Raven then deemed humming noncommittally to be appropriate for a response. "Flattery? From you? Perhaps you _have_ changed." She remarked.

"I'm merely stating the obvious." Jaune retorted back. "Not that your lack of change in how you view the world is for the better, mind you."

"Hmph." She scoffed at that, finding no reason to retort.

"Out of the two of you, your brother is the more bearable one. Even if he happens to be a drunkard." Jaune remarked.

"Still so after all these years?" Raven asked before she scoffed with a small smirk, "He's always been the weaker one."

"Is that how you view him as? As a weak brother of yours?"

"More as someone who could and should be better than he is." Raven stated with quite the rancor in her tone, "Why so curious about him anyway? It's not as if he's to be your colleague at Beacon, he's gone on his own way again after you were hired by Ozpin correct?"

"Still keeping tabs on me?"

"Did you even once think that I'd _ever_ not do so?" she retorted.

"Did you ever think that you might be a bit insane?" he asked back.

"Aren't we both insane?" she asked rhetorically, "You left for The Wilds when you were eleven-years old, driven by a desire you can't properly control, both of us are _not_ normal."

"Yet I'm not the one keeping tabs on everyone I've ever met."

"Not _everyone_. Just people I consider worthy enough to do so. My brother, for example, is not worth such an effort."

"And _I'm_ worth all that effort?"

"You are." She answered it rather simply.

"Why?"

"Because everything that you've done has changed the world." She said, admitting as much to the man, "I _need_ to know all of your moves because you've left a mark, a mark that has changed a great deal of things. My brother, despite his capabilities, have done nothing of the sort. He is _not_ worth all the effort."

"What about Yang? ...Do you actually _love_ her? Do you _care_ about her?" he asked, his tone of voice softer than before.

"...In my own way, I care about her. But I know that for her to become strong, she needs to do it on her own."

"How do you know that for certain? How do you know that your presence won't make her strong?"

"Because it was the same for me and my brother." Was her answer.

"By that logic, you never think that she'll end up just like your brother or you? Strong in body but weak in mind? Your brother became a drunkard to cope with what he had experienced and you... You see the world in either black or dark shades of gray, you've willfully blinded yourself to what is good about the world and you've basically either given up on hope or that you've never believed its importance in the first place, is that what you want your daughter to become?"

"If it will make her strong-"

"Physically perhaps. But in the end, what good has that kind of thinking done to you or those you knew? You think your husband is as apathetic to others like you? You don't think leaving him hasn't hurt him the same way it hurt your daughter? What drew you to him anyway? Yang told me nothing but good things about him, he sounded like a kind, vibrant person if shaken by your abandonment and then the death of his second wife, what made you, a person with one of the darkest mindsets I've ever known, want to have a child with that kind of man?"

At that, she simply stayed silent and looked away from him. It was as if she didn't want to continue it further. After a long stretch of silence, she then said, "...Remember what I said yesterday about your crusade against the Grimm?" she opted to quickly get to the heart of an important matter, "How what you're doing only leaves a void that will be filled with something worse?"

Her question made him look at her with slightly narrowed eyes. He knew that she was deflecting, but, interested in what she wanted to say, he decided to abandon their argument for now, "What have you found?" he asked her, curious as to what she had to say.

"A large number of them are in hiding." She answered, prompting another moment of silence between the two before she continued, "Some deep underground, some on the sea floor... You might've killed them by the millions, but those remaining are biding their time... You put fear in them, and that's not a good thing."

He nodded, understanding her point, "A terrified, cornered animal will lash out violently when given the chance. And you think that they're preparing for that? To lash out against me?"

"I think they don't discriminate between you or the rest of the human and faunus-kind." She answered, "There are those who remained above ground, maybe as a lookout, and the Grimm that went under are cautious and violent. When they lash out..." she trailed off.

She saw him sighing before he declared, "I'll be there to face them."

Raven rolled her eyes, expecting that answer out of him, "I know you will." She said with a knowing tone of voice. However, she then added, "But you can't be at many places at once."

She stood up then and continued, "They're everywhere, Jaune, a network of hive-like beings that are waiting for their time. Once they lash out, and they will... All of Remnant will be brought into a new war, a war the likes no one had ever seen before." She then stepped closer to him so that he'd tilt his head up to meet her eyes, "You've met with Ozpin, tell him this. With the Queen out of the picture, he should focus on a more immediate threat."

Oh she knew of the Queen and her downfall thanks to a little bird that she had scooped up. "How did you know about the Queen?" he asked.

"I have my sources. One of which I've acquired just recently, and she knows you." She answered before she added, "Heed me, Jaune. You'll need more than just yourself to fight this. Gather people, gather resources. Time's getting short, don't be unprepared."

She then went to her sheathed sword and mask, picked them up, wore the latter and then she slashed the air in front of her with a single burst of movement and created a black portal that she began to approach... She stopped mid-way before she turned to him and say; "As for our fight the night before... I want you to never talk to Yang about this." she said imperiously.

"...Are you _really_ giving me an order?" Jaune asked with narrowed eyes. "Who do you think I am, Raven?"

The two stared each other before Raven backed down first, she looked away from Jaune and then she said, "...I apologize." she said with a tight voice, as if her throat was a bit constricted, "For... the night before. My family is a matter most sensitive to me, and I... overreacted. I was in the wrong."

Jaune blinked in silent for a couple of seconds before a small, mirthless smile formed on his face, "Don't we always fight whenever we meet? Either with words or with our bodies, it's normal for us, so you shouldn't have apologized. Still... I accept it all the same. Fine, I'll not talk to Yang about this recent meeting." His smile turned into a small lopsided grin, "Three years ago, the thought of you admitting that you're wrong about anything to me is laughable. Still think that being cruel is justified in a supposedly cruel world?" he asked in a teasing manner, as if he wanted to test his luck.

"...Ass." she muttered before she stepped into the portal and left him behind.

She emerged near a small cottage covered by trees and greenery that acted as natural barriers and caught her newest charge off-guard that she immediately stood up from sitting on the grass and stuttered a greeting, "M-miss Branwen! Welcome back!" said the green-haired, dark-skinned girl with a forced politeness.

As Raven's red eyes met her own, Emerald Sustrai squirmed a bit and the older woman let it be for a second before she said, "I met with the man who killed your previous mistress."

She stiffened a bit. It seemed that he too had put fear inside her heart, "Y-you are friends with that mo-, that man?" she quickly corrected herself.

"...Friends is a rather strong word." Raven answered, "We know each other, we dislike each other's belief, but... we respect each other to a degree." Mentally, she added, 'Perhaps heavier at my side than his...'

" _Why be cruel? When you see how cruel the world can be, you have to stand your ground and say 'No, I won't stoop down to your level, I'm going to be better.'"_

Yes, she didn't agree with his view of the world, but nevertheless, unlike many people she had seen who boasted their ideals with empty words, he proved himself to be more than just a man saying things to appear strong by actually acting on his belief. His strength, physical, mental and spiritual were quite captivating to behold.

He reminded her of Taiyang in a sense... Except that he possessed not Taiyang's overwhelming exuberance and vibrant personality but a calm self-confidence that was nigh-impossible to break, even back when she first met him, when he was but thirteen years old.

" _I'm not cut out for this you say? I agree, that's_ why _I'm here. Where else would I fulfill my potential if not out here in The Wilds?"_

She shook her head. Thinking of him had become rather distracting as of late. She had always been attracted with people who were her polar opposite, either in personality or ideals. Two of her old teammates Taiyang and Summer came to mind, and now it was this young Jaune Arc who had left an impression on her.

" _How could a strong woman like you have such a weak philosophical worldview?"_

Never had anyone call her worldview weak, not her brother, not Taiyang, not even Summer. Never had she been stunned into silence before he said that, and never had she been so angry and defensive that she started a goddamn fight before that. A fight with a thirteen year old on top of that, what an adult she was.

Opposites attract, as they say, and never had it been more proven to be true than with Raven... Not that she knew whether or not the feeling was shared of course, but that was neither here nor there, so she focused back on Emerald and said; "Anyway, we're going to move out, grab your weapons."

Emerald nodded, still hasty but not willing to disobey, something that Raven thought to be a result of her upbringing. 'People like her always need someone to act as their handler.' Thought Raven as she crossed her arms and waited for her to come out.

She deliberately told her that she knew Jaune to gauge the girl's reaction. As it were, she concluded that though she was loyal to the Queen, otherwise known as Cinder Fall, she feared him and Raven more. And considering that Cinder was 'dead', she needed someone to take control, and that was where Raven came in.

It was rather 'fortunate' for Raven to come across her when she did. More 'fortunate' even that the girl was lost and in need of a direction, so she offered her just that in exchange for essentially being her servant.

A couple of seconds later, Emerald came out, "W-where are we going, i-if I may ask?" she said, still uncertain whether or not she should be completely formal with Raven, having been under her thumb only for a couple of days.

After what occurred between Cinder, the Maiden and the terrifying caped blonde, Emerald had been trying to get by with her usual MO, which was to become a thief again. However, as quickly as she never thought possible, she was found by _another_ terrifying figure that had basically forced her to come with her and comply.

The thought of her knowing that caped blonde man was rather surprising, but in hindsight, it should've been rather obvious. It made sense for monsters like them to know each other after all, and the woman in front of her now was nothing less than one. Giving her her service was rather essential to ensure her survival, just like she did with Cinder.

She held almost no grudge against him, she _was_ frustrated when Cinder was killed, but that was mostly because she lost a leading figure that took care of her in return for her service. However, having been living a harsh life beforehand taught her that moving on as quickly as possible was necessary for survival.

She needed to be useful, either to herself or to others, to get by, and if she had to serve Raven, then so be it. As long as she didn't exploit her or treat her like utter trash, she'd be fine with serving, and so far, Raven had proven to be firm but fair, she expected her to be subservient, demanding her to be disciplined, but to not be afraid to speak for herself.

"Chin up and lose your stutter. You're allowed to ask me questions as long as you're firm about it." Raven ordered and on cue, Emerald stood up straighter, "And to answer your question, we're going to places no one thought to venture because of how dangerous they are." Emerald shivered and felt as if Raven was smiling behind that terrifying mask of hers, "Hope you're ready..."

She gulped and nodded, firmly and repeatedly. She had experience in serving someone powerful before, and she'd do her best now without a complaint.

All for the sake of surviving.

* * *

 **To be Continued...**

* * *

 **Raven Branwen, so mysterious, so enigmatic, so divisive... As for Emerald, well, I figure I'd throw her a bone for now by putting her under Raven's bidding. It depends on you to think whether or not it's a punishment.**

 **So, this is how I chose to portray Raven Branwen, this is how I see her, as a woman who is ultimately somewhat benign but tempered with some twisted principles that couldn't help but to be drawn to people who are her polar opposites, either in personality or ideals, who also happened to be strong.  
**


	5. The Shadow and The Little Sister

**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own RWBY.

* * *

Five years old June Arc watched from the sidelines alongside her two youngest older sisters Rouge and Stella as her brother Jaune continued his assault on their father. "He's really determined isn't he?" the hetero-chromatic Rouge remarked. "Ever since what happened in Winsnow, it's like he's a different person..."

Looking over at her other sister, June saw Stella's emerald-green eyes looked at Jaune with a sense of pervasive sadness. June gently patted her sister's knee, prompting Stella to rub her head affectionately in gratitude, "Yeah, he is..." she agreed.

June didn't remember her brother all that well. Her first actual memory of him that she could easily recall was when he was hospitalized and she visited him along with her parents and sisters. She had never seen her parents and sisters so down before, and that left a mark on her.

She didn't know how he used to be. That said however, she didn't dislike how her brother was now. He was quiet, calm and kind, all the things she liked, which was why she's always drawn to him now.

"Alright, that's enough for now, Jaune." The sound of her father's voice calling the spar off brought her attention back, and she saw Jaune nodding before he gave his wooden sword to him and walking away from her father and towards them.

He sat beside June as Stella and Rouge offered him praises; "You've worked quite hard today Jaune." Said Stella as she ruffled his hair and Rouge rubbed his right shoulder.

"Thanks." He answered in a rather subdued manner as he turned to June... who was staring at him rather intensely, "...Hey, June." He greeted her.

"Brother, can I train with you?" asked the five year-old girl.

Her brother's eyebrows rose up, "I think that's for dad and mom to decide..." he trailed off and looked at the approaching figure of their father.

"Absolutely not, June." Said Arthur Arc.

"Why not? Brother's only a year older than me!" yelled June indignantly with a pout.

"Jaune's... a special case." Their father hesitantly answered, "He _needs_ to be trained, but you don't. When you're old enough, then we'll talk again, but not now, June."

"Why do you want to train, June?" asked her brother.

She smiled brightly at how her brother asked why. "'Cause I want us to be a Huntsman and Huntress duet!" she excitedly said, "It'd be awesome!"

"It's a duo, not a duet. So... you want to fight alongside me?"

"Yeah! We'll be unstoppable!" declared the small girl.

"Well, as unstoppable as you want to be, the answer's still no." Arthur cut in, "When you're older, _then_ we'll talk more about this, but for now... Let's just drop it, okay?"

She pouted, and Jaune, along with Stella and Rouge petted her head. "There there li'l sis." Said Rouge, "Don't worry, it's only going to be a few years before you can train with Jaune."

"But I want to do it now!" she puffed her cheeks. She wanted to be at her brother's side as a Huntsman-Huntress pair against the Grimm!

"Grow up a bit first." Stella said rather cheekily as she lightly pinched her sister's cheek, " _Then_ you can train."

Silently, beneath her fuming exterior, she swore that she would train by herself. One day, she and Jaune will be fighting together, she just knew it!

* * *

 **The Shadow and the Little Sister**

* * *

A pair of sea-green eyes gazed at the red leaves of Forever Fall, quite lost in her own thoughts. Alone by herself, June Arc took the morning train to Vale for the purpose of attending Beacon's entrance exam.

Having been home-schooled by her parents instead of attending other academies to learn the tricks of the trade, to enter one of the most prestigious Academy this side of Remnant required her to prove herself in front of judges who would decide if she was worthy of their time or not.

For this, she had been preparing for years. Sure, she was taught quite a lot by her parents, but to be acknowledged as a Huntress or a Huntsman, one needed to graduate from Beacon or other Academies of a similar level, and as such, she was taught not just how to fight, but they also demand her to study.

Which she did, she was not completely averse to reading, but indeed it was quite exhausting, all those information!

She sighed as she tore her sight away from the red leaves of Forever Fall and closed her eyes. 'Smaller Grimm tend to pack together, examples: Beowolves and Creepers, as their size increase, they tend to go solo, but there are exceptions...' she recited the information she had memorized.

Across from the blonde haired young woman, sat another beauty clad in black and white. Her hair was black, in contrast to her bright yellow eyes and fair skin. Her head was adorned with a black lacy bow and she wore a set of light clothing which looked as comfortable as it was inviting.

She tore her gaze away from the book on her hands as she looked at the blonde in front of her. Taller than herself by quite a large margin, perhaps six inches of difference? She had to at least be 6 feet tall. Blonde hair styled into a top knotted ponytail, clad in simple blue-colored hoodie, a pair of brown fingerless gloves on her hands,black loose pants held together by a black leather belt and a pair of blue sneakers, all in all, she looked quite normal, not average, but normal...

That is, until she saw that she had a sword on her hip, an honest-to-god sword with no visible attachments that she knew of which would classify it as a melee-gun hybrid. Its blade was within a white metal sheath, the sight was quite rare, even for herself, who had seen a fair share of weapons in her previous line of work.

'Who are you?' thought one Blake Belladonna as she looked at the young woman who still had her eyes closed and her arms crossed, 'A would-be huntress? Likely, she doesn't seem too experienced to be a full-fledged one, but-' she stopped herself as she forced her eyes to read her book, 'No, don't over-analyze people, you have no need to do that anymore.'

A new life, a new way to live, but it was still rather difficult to lose the way she had been conditioned and trained to act when she was among other people. 'Baby steps... you just don't lose years of conditioning in a month's time.' She had to remind herself.

So she returned to her book, leaving the blonde woman alone as the train continued to pass through the red forest of Forever Fall.

Minutes passed by before she saw, on her peripheral vision, the blonde in front of her looking out the window... with a scowl on her face.

The scowl was so grim and was a heavy contrast to the image she presented before that Blake couldn't help but to wonder what she had seen. Turning her head to where the blonde was looking provided her with an answer.

Eyes that were not as keen as hers would not have caught the sight of several figures hiding amidst the red trees that launched themselves using some sort of line launchers towards the train cars several rows behind the ones they were occupying.

Her eyes widened, realizing what was going on. They were in the last cars to house passengers, and behind them were where designated cargo cars were located. Knowing the method in which the intruders pulled themselves towards the car left her with just one possible perpetrator 'It's them... what could they be looking for here...?'

She saw as the blonde in front of her stood up and walked towards the guarded door at the far back of the train car. Wanting not to draw attention to herself, she stayed put but kept her ears, all two sets of them, opened.

" _Hey, can I get through here?"_

" _I'm sorry miss, but non-employees are prohibited beyond this point._ "

" _I see..."_

" _Uhgk...!"_

Throwing caution to the wind, she turned to look what happened and saw the tall blonde holding the unconscious guard by the shoulder and taking his keycard. Miraculously, it seemed that nobody else was seeing what she was seeing and the blonde was trying to make it look as if the guard was not unconscious with slight success, showing her firm upper body strength.

She remained in place as the blonde opened the door and exited, carrying the guard with her before she immediately bolted and prevented her from closing the door. She opened it slightly to allow a little gap for her to get through and then she got outside, where the blonde was looking at her with a panicked look.

"Oh, uh, hey, look, the guy fell asleep when I got here." She said and Blake sighed before she swiped the keycard, ignoring the indignant shout of 'Hey!' from the blonde and locked the door, prompting her to look at her with a raised eyebrow, "You're... not going to call the train security on me?"

She half-sighed half-growled and said; "You saw it didn't you? People trying to get on the back of the train? What are you planning to do, face them head on?" she asked.

"...That's the idea, yeah." She answered as she put the guard on a somewhat comfortable position on the steel floor, "I could use the help, you coming?" She said as she began to walk to the door leading to the cargo cars.

"Hold it." Blake said as she grabbed the impulsive blonde by the hand, "Do you even know who you're fighting against?" she asked.

"Not really, but considering that they're looking to hijack a couple of cargo train cars-"

She stopped when Blake, ears twitching, pulled her to the side of the door that was opened, out of sight from whoever came out from within, which was two armed men clad in black and wearing Grimm masks that matched their Faunus type, one was like that of a wolf with his extra pair of ears and the other was like a snake, lacking any other animalistic features besides a pair of holes with scales surrounding them on the sides of his head.

Her hand on the blonde's mouth, they were silent as they watched the men walked in front of them for a couple of steps... before one of them saw the unconscious guards and turned back, "Hey!" he yelled just as the blonde released herself from her grip and delivered a 'dynamic entry' kick to the snake one's stomach, sending him crashing back-first to the steel wall of the train and rendering him unconscious.

It left Blake with the wolf faunus, and she quickly released Gambol Shroud, switched it to blade-mode. He was not fast enough as she wrapped the cloth of her weapon around one of his feet, pulled it to make him fall back-first to the unforgiving steel and then quickly stomped him on the head, cracking the mask as her aura broke through and rendering him unconscious as well.

Blake looked up and saw the tall blonde with a small smile on her face as she asked her; "Nice moves, where'd you learn that?"

Blake huffed at the sheer irreverence that the blonde showed. However, looking at the downed snake faunus, Blake grudgingly admitted that the taller woman was quite capable of fighting. However... "Why don't you just inform this to the authorities, let them take care of it?"

"You think someone like that guardsman could handle this?" she asked, "And even if they have numbers on their side, it's not an open area." She huffed and said; " _Someone_ had to do something."

"And that someone is _you_?" Blake couldn't help but to ask, "Can you even fight all these people by yourself?"

She simply chuckled and said; "Someone had to _try_. Otherwise, who's going to prevent those terrorists from doing whatever it is they're gonna do?" she asked.

Terrorists. Indeed, that was what they were known as. In the past, she had dismissed such name-calling as a slur because to her, White Fang stood for emancipation, for the empowerment and the betterment of all Faunus...

Yet now, she had no heart to refute that. They were, undoubtedly, terrorists. Even most of their own kind regarded them as such. When did it all go wrong? Where did it start, this fall from grace that they experienced?

Wordlessly, she opened the door to the cargo car and motioned her to come along, conveying her willingness to assist her. With a small smile, the blonde followed her lead as they entered the cargo carriage. "Name's June by the way. June Arc." Whispered the blonde woman to Blake's ears.

"...Blake." she revealed her name, but only her first one. Focusing on the interior of the carriage, she saw that it was dark. Thankfully though, her eyes was more capable of seeing in the dark.

There were a couple of White Fang operatives within, four of them visible, surrounding a couple of massive steel caches, all of them in shape of a box, which they were trying to break into. Knowing how they work, Blake guessed that they were a part of a team that consisted of fighters, but strangely, no leaders.

Usually, there should be at least one, but whe-?

"Are we finished with this yet?" asked a deep, cold voice that seemed to have echoed out from a dark cave instead from the mouth of a rather tall faunus with red hair and a pair of horns wielding a long sheathed sword whose sheath also acted as a close-range rifle as he stepped out from the other side of one of the tall box.

Blake felt her heart stop. He's there. Adam Taurus, the leader, someone whom she's terrified of meeting again ever since she left the White Fang for good. Knowing that he could not see as well in the dark as she was only alleviated her fear for a short while, but she forced herself to calm down.

A hand on her shoulder made her flinch as she realized that she was not the only one there. To her left, June Arc –the family name seemed rather familiar for some reason, but it was not clicking as of yet-, was looking at the direction of where the five were, her eyes moved onto the exact location of every single one of them.

Could she see in the dark as well, even when she's not a Faunus like her? Before she could ponder the question however, the light was turned on, and the voice from a faunus that was blocked by one of the massive boxes resounded, "Alright, I got it!"

"Hm, let us-" Adam stopped then as he saw someone he didn't expect to see. A rather unnerving wide smile formed on his face as he drawled, "Blake..."

Steeling her resolve, she responded, "Adam..."

"The traitor!" yelled one of the faunus, the lanky weasel judging by the ears.

"Traitor...?" June muttered as she looked at Blake, who flinched and looked away from the sight of her scrutinizing sea-green eyes. "...Huh." was all she said before she then addressed the White Fang in the room, "So, I'm assuming that you guys are here to do something bad. I mean, let's face it, you guys infiltrated a train, you're not gonna be here for a check-up routine. I'm guessing you're the guy in charge?" she said as she pointed right at Adam.

Did this girl had no fear? Was she idiotic or just arrogant? She saw as Adam snarled, "Who I am does not concern you. You've seen us, you will have to die."

"Thought so." She said before her hand quickly went into one of her pockets on her hoodie and she brought out a small rock, a pebble, tucked between the edge of her right thumb and the middle of her index finger. She aimed at one of the faunus and Blake saw a flicker of blue light appeared the moment it was launched by her flicking her thumb upwards.

It shot out like a bullet shot from a gun and hit whom she was aiming at right on his head, cracking through his Grimm mask and causing a hefty concussion that produced a small but steaming bruise as he fell on his back, out for the count.

"Let's not delay further." June said as all of them were still processing what just happened while she was unsheathing her double-edged sword from its sheath. "We all _know_ what's going to happen here."

As if spurred on by what she said, everyone released their weapons save for Adam, who simply went onto a stance while keeping his sword sheathed. "Looks like you know how to fight." He said to June.

"Looks like you guys know where to buy emo clothes." June said with a smirk, "I mean seriously, did all of you buy your clothes from 'Sizzling Topic' or is black on more black with red all the rage among terrorists nowadays?"

Blake grimaced when she saw Adam's lips formed into a thin line. Why was she doing this? Why was she goading them on, was she _that_ confident with her fighting capability? Then again, considering that she just shot a rock like a bullet from a gun that can pass through a person's Aura by just flicking it, she might have a reason to be so cocky.

Knowing whose side she was on at this moment, Blake prepared herself for a fight as well, her Gambol Shroud at the ready.

"They know how you fight?" June asked Blake, to which she hesitantly nodded at, "Are you gonna hold back?" at that, she hesitated for a bit longer, and thus June continued, "Right, then just watch my back and keep up."

Her right foot stomped and for a second there was a blast of blue light before she hit one of the grunts with a shoulder charge in a split second, once again passing by his aura and sending him crashing against the wall. "Two down!" she announced.

One of the grunts wielding a knife-pistol –indicating his specialty in fighting a person instead of a Grimm-, went for a stab, but Blake was faster as she blocked his stabbing attempt and kicked his stomach to push him away and by doing so, protecting June's back.

"Nice cover!" commended June before she vaulted over Blake's back and sent a kick to the would-be stabber's head, staggering him and allowing her to capitalize on the moment by cocking back her fist, and this time, Blake saw her hand coated in what seemed to be a thin film of blue light, like a...

'Force field?' she wondered for a moment before June socked the poor guy's head again, cracking through the Grimm mask of a Beowolf, which landed her fist right on his cheek, which rippled against the force that she was exerting and then the punch sent him head-first to the wall and retiring him from the fight.

"Three down!" announced June before this time, the last two grunts remaining sans Adam charged her head-on at the same time. "Right, these guys are getting smart! Get behind me!"

Blake was pulled by the collar of her clothes, and though she will deny this later on, she did let out a squeaky 'Eeep!' at how June manhandled her so that she was behind her as the two grunts, both armed with a single-edged axe-rifle and sword-pistol combo used their melee configuration and attacked her at the same time.

Both were stopped with a resounding clang as June used her sheath to block one of the weapons while her sword blocked the other as if she was dual-wielding a pair of swords. With a smirk she pushed the two away with her weapons before she twirled, slashing one of the grunts' leg and following it with a jump thrust with the dull end of the sheath hitting the other grunt's stomach.

With the immediate threats pushed away June focused on the one with the sword-pistol while the other nursed the wound given to him, her unassuming non-hybrid blade was coated in blue film-thin light and it cut through the sword-pistol as if it were made of wood. Before he could even do anything, the blunt tip of the white sheath struck his chest, sending him flying to the wall, rendering him unconscious at the moment of impact.

The last remaining grunt was like a deer caught in headlights. That moment of hesitation ended up with his nose kicked, and June followed it by pushing her feet into a powerful stomp onto the floor with his head acting as the middleman between them.

Blake grimaced, but nevertheless, she was impressed. The girl handled herself pretty well. 'Then again, what was that thin film of light? Her Semblance?' if that really was, that would explain how she was so strong, some Semblances are just _extremely_ powerful that they are known as Killer Semblance.

Speaking of Semblances made her realize that there was still one combatant left.

"Five down! ...And all that's left is you." June announced as she pointed at the leader, Adam Taurus himself. Seeing how quickly and decisively the others were defeated shook him so much that he was almost vibrating as his hand that was holding onto the grip of his sword was becoming paler beneath his black gloves.

"Careful." Blake said to June, who was now reciprocating his glare with her smirk. "I don't know what your Semblance is exactly, but his is dangerous."

"Helping humans are you now, Blake?" Adam drawled.

"What are you planning to do here, Adam?" she asked, "What's inside these caches? Dusts? One of Atlas' robots?"

"...It's not too late, Blake." Adam said though he still kept his stance, "You are always welcome to come back... Just kill her, and I'll cover this incident." He said.

"By covering, do you mean killing your own?" asked June with slightly narrowed eyes, "Cause I didn't kill your underlings, I just incapacitated them. If you're going to cover this up, how else are you going to do it? Bribe them? They don't look as if they're keen on getting Blake here back." She then turned to Blake and asked, "Are you two together?"

Grimacing at the blunt question, she answered, "We... We had... a _thing._ We used to, at least..." she then scowled and wondered if Adam would do what June insinuated. She was right though, they won't be pleased with this no matter how he cut it.

"I've never given up on you, love..." he drawled again, sending shivers down Blake's spine, "I don't want to hurt you, but you abandoned me, abandoned our future. We're supposed to be fighting together against these humans."

"We used to fight bigotry and injustice, not humans!" Blake replied back, "We used to hate those who hate us without reason, not those who sympathize with us, but now there's no distinction in your eyes! As if all humans are the same to you."

"They are all the same! _All_ of them hates us for being what we are!"

"Uh, I don't hate all faunus." June interrupted, catching both of them off-guard, "Though I _really_ don't like _you,_ " she pointed her index finger at him, "that's not because you're a faunus, but because you're an asshole who wants me dead for being what I am. Hypocritical, much? And I don't hate _her,_ " she pointed her thumb at Blake, "because she's been very helpful and has a good head on her shoulders."

With seriousness that Blake had not seen before in her previous fight against the grunts, June said, "Humans or Faunus, in the end, we're all just people. And people have their fair share of assholes from any and all groups within them. How do I know this?" she lifted up her chin a bit to look down on Adam, "I'm looking at one of those assholes right now."

Adam growled, yet he kept his footing firm and in place. Noticing how angry he was yet how unwilling he was to make the first move made June frown, "His Semblance..." she spoke to Blake, "Is it an action or a _re_ action-type?"

'Very perceptive.' Blake thought to herself, approving her keen observation and how she asked the right question, "Reaction type." She answered.

"So this is your answer, Blake...?" Adam asked, "You would abandon your own kind? Leave me and our cause behind? Why...? For what reason would you do this?"

"...White Fang used to stand for something other than hate." Blake started, "But now, it's nothing but that. It used to mean a fight for equality, for positive empowerment, but now all they want to do is to bring down humans. That's not the White Fang I knew, that's not the fight I signed up for." She grimaced at that, "I'm sorry Adam."

Adam's lips curled inward while June sighed, "Right then... Time to end this." She said before her blue-colored Aura covered her sword and then she ran towards him and delivered a swift slash targeted at his chest.

He blocked it with his sheathed sword, and he saw as the blue Aura was slowly absorbed to his own sword as the red of his Grimm mask suddenly glowed in response.

June pulled back as Adam once again fell into a stance. June did the same thing as before and charged back. "What are you-?!" Blake shouted, 'I _told_ her that his Semblance was reaction-based and she should've seen the red glow after her attack was blocked, so why-?!'

She could only see as June moved for another slash and Adam was about to unleash Wilt from the sheath named Blush and the two swords were about to hit...

Only for June to fell into a powerslide at the very last second and letting Adam waste all that energy he had absorbed into a slash that hit nothing. "Your rage got the better of you!" June yelled out with a wide smile before she focused the thin film of her blue Aura onto her two feet and using her hands to balance herself with, she delivered a double-footed kick right onto his stomach.

The thin film then _moved_ from her feet to his stomach and it spread out all over his body which resulted in him being sent flying towards the nearby wall and caving in his stomach in the form of a pair of footprints embedded onto his skin and muscles.

"...A feint." Blake muttered, 'So _that's_ why she goaded him on, to let emotions get the better of him so that he'll be too hasty!' Looking at the girl who sheathed her sword and puffed air out in relief, Blake couldn't help but to smile, 'Seems I've underestimated her... Then again, that Semblance of hers...'

Looking over at the still conscious but immobile Adam, the imprint of her shoes' soles was clear for all to see, Blake couldn't help but wonder what it was, 'It looked like a Force Field... but it's so versatile that it can be used for both offense and defense. And considering that it can pass through Aura like nothing, I guess it really _is_ a Killer Semblance.'

"You..." the prone form of Adam struggled to stand, going so far as to use his sheathed sword as a crutch, "You haven't... defeated me... yet..."

Always stubborn... She supposed that that part of him hasn't changed, but where it was once endearing, now it was just... "Adam, just stop." She said to him, "You've failed. Please, just once, notice this and accept it."

"Never...!" he growled out as June was approaching him, "As long as I'm still breathing, I'll never-!" he was stopped when June grabbed him by the collar and was cocking back her enclosed free hand.

"Just stay down." Her hand was enclosed in a thin blue Aura and then she punched his face, passing through the Grimm masked visor he was wearing to make contact with his left cheek bone. The cracking sound that came right at that moment made Blake wince.

When he fell down in a messy, unconscious heap, June looked at the silent Blake and shrugged with a sheepish look on her face, "Hey, uh... sorry about all this, but your ex was being a huge dick."

Blake couldn't help the snort that came out after June said that and as a result, both girls shared a laugh at the whole rather bizarre occurrence that they were involved in.

All the while, they were unaware of small, innocuous recording devices placed around the metal casing of the caches that were capturing everything that was happening and streaming it to a keen viewer located on a remote location, far far away from where June and Blake were...

Blake and June were then alerted to an incoming group of train security personnels when there was a loud knocking on the side where they entered. _"Hey, who's in there?! Get out of there now!"_

June and Blake looked at each other then, and June asked her; "What do you want to do here?"

Caught off-guard by how the blonde was deferring to her, it took her a couple seconds of shocked silence before she began to plan what she wanted done. "...Alright, then please do as I say, okay?"

* * *

 _Later on..._

Blake's yellow eyes watched from afar as June was being asked by the cops. She felt really bad for putting the blonde in such a difficult position, but she was infinitely gladdened by how June just agreed to it.

" _You want to throw them out of a moving train?"_

" _Yes, but use something to soften their landing. Look, I know what Adam and the others did something bad, but... Having them arrested like this won't help people sympathize with the Faunus."_

She could vividly recall the dark look that June had shot her with and the sigh that she let out when she decided to go along with it. She wasn't happy with it, she wanted them arrested, but she did what Blake asked her to anyway, and for that, Blake owed her a huge favor.

Using a large broken piece of the steel floor shaped roughly like a rectangle, which June cut off using her sword, as a slide, Adam and the other White Fang grunts were sent sliding off the train from the side of the car where the guards were not coming from.

" _One last thing, can you... can you talk to them by yourself?"_

" _...You're trying to erase your involvement in all this, aren't you?"_

" _I'm sorry, but... If they found out what I am and my connection to the White Fang, I'll..."_

" _...Haaaaah... Fine. I'll handle them."_

" _Oh thank you, I know I'm asking so much from you, I swear-"_

'I'll pay it back in full somehow.' Blake thought as June was beginning to get through to the cops that she was just doing what she felt right, even the part where she threw away the White Fang perpetrators. She couldn't help but to smile at the knowledge that someone like June existed: A human who was willing to do a lot for a faunus without expecting an immediate return despite her reservations about the deed itself.

She kept on watching, wanting to talk to her again when the chance presented itself. Perhaps after she finished talking with the cops and had left the station. Even if she was supposed to go to Beacon to take her exam, and she had planned to go early to avoid getting stuck in a crowd, she owed June so much that she'd be okay with being stuck waiting amongst a crowd while also trying to hide her extra set of ears.

However, it seemed that the cops were still trying to grill June on with constant questions, and she began to feel even sorrier for the blonde girl due to having a direct involvement that led her to being questioned by the cops all by herself.

It appeared that she was going to be there for quite a while... Until someone she didn't think would involve himself in something like this appeared, as if out of nowhere, and talked to the cops.

'What's the Headmaster of Beacon doing here?' she wondered as she saw the green-clad Ozpin talked the cops into leaving June with him. They then left and Ozpin and June talked for a while. She wished that she could hear their conversation, but as it was, with her bow covering her extra ears, she was unable to.

Despite that, she was able to surmise what was going on, and it seemed that he wanted to speak to her... at another place. '...Where is he taking her?' she wondered as she waited until Ozpin and June were out of sight before she began to follow them from afar.

Through the crowded hallways of the station she followed them until they entered a black car and took off, at which point she was unable to continue her self-imposed mission. She frowned as she watched the car sped off. "Where is he taking her...?" she wondered out loud.

June was a very capable fighter, perhaps she was a well-known Huntress whom Ozpin knew personally and that he had heard of her being in trouble and personally intervened? Either way though, right now, they were separated. 'June Arc, huh...?' the edges of her lips creased upwards and formed into a genuine smile as she said; "I hope we meet again someday..."

With that statement, she made her way towards Beacon herself, ready to start a new life as a Huntress in-training.

* * *

 _Later on..._

She had wanted to come to Beacon since the beginning, but she didn't expect that she would be taken directly to its Headmaster's office by the man himself.

He sat across from herself, on the chair designated only for his behind, and watched as he slurped coffee from his ceramic mug. Standing on his side was the ever famous Glynda Goodwitch, who seemed to be looking at her with a gentle yet piercing gaze while behind him, the gears of the giant clockwork whirred quite loudly behind them."So... where is he? He said that he's been hired here." She asked with a slight sheepish tone.

As it turned out, the reason why the headmaster was there because her brother had informed him that she will take the train to Vale in order to take the exam and the headmaster himself admitted that he wanted to meet her firsthand.

" _Why though? I'm the same as any other Huntress or Huntsman in-training."_ She protested as such during their way to Beacon.

" _Well, your brother told me that your father trained you almost as hard as he did with him. I know Arthur Arc, and the man can be quite... disciplined. Did it ever stop, your sessions of training under his tutelage?"_

" _Not really, the longest time I remember having to rest is three days, and that was to prepare for this exam. So that I didn't, you know, overtax myself and ended up unable to give my all in the physical exam."_

" _Hm. That does sound like him. Originally, that alone is enough of a commendation to allow you to enter Beacon without having to go through the exam-"_

" _Really?!"_

" _But then I found out that you've found yourself in a bit of trouble on the way here. Do you want to tell me what that was all about?"_

" _...Uh... Let's just say that I was... helping a friend."_

" _Are you uncomfortable talking about it here?"_

" _...Kind of. No offense."_ She said to the one who was driving them.

" _None taken."_ The driver replied with a gruff, stoic indifference.

" _Then let's talk about it when we are in the privacy of my office."_

It was the usual case of 'one thing led to another', and right now, she was hearing the answer to her previous question, "He's not in Beacon at this moment, Ms. Arc." Ozpin said, "He requested for a temporary leave for a day, saying that there was something he needed to do."

"Aw..." she moaned out with a pout. A shame, she really wanted to meet him again, but no matter. If she became a student of Beacon, it'll happen anyway, so she can be patient. "So... alright, the whole thing on the train. It has something to do with the White Fang."

Ozpin's eyebrows rose up as Glynda's eyes widened for a fraction. "White Fang, you say?"

"Yeah. Apparently, the cargo car contained something that they wanted, and eight of them infiltrated it as it went. I noticed it and went to stop it." She answered.

"Eight White Fang, all defeated by your lonesome... Very impressive. Where are they now?" Ozpin asked.

"...I might've thrown them off the same train before it got into the station." She answered with a flat tone of voice that conveyed her displeasure and lack of enthusiasm.

"Why?" Ozpin immediately went for the jugular, as it were.

She pursed her lips inward for a moment, as if she was trying to withhold an information that she knew about. With a pop, her lips opened before she said; "Can this be taken off the record?" she asked.

"Of course." Ozpin nodded before turning to Glynda, who nodded back in return.

She took a deep breath before she said; "I wasn't fighting against all those people by myself. There was someone else with me, and she happened to be... An ex-White Fang member."

"Is that so?" Ozpin remarked, as if not at all surprised by the whole thing, "Will you tell us her name?" he asked.

"No." She answered resolutely, without even pausing to think about it first.

"Very well. Was she the one who made you do what you said before?" he asked without missing a beat and with a knowing smile.

"Yeah, she said that it wouldn't make the faunus look good, as their arrests would be heavily publicized, presumably giving more ammo for anti-faunus sentiments." She said.

"Even if that were the case, she and you aided the escape of criminals, which makes you an accessory to crime." Glynda sternly said, which made June grimace. "Why did you do that, Ms. Arc?"

She shrugged with a sigh, "I just trusted her judgment on things. She's a faunus, she used to be a part of the White Fang, if she said that it'd make things worse for them, I thought I should believe her. It was a pain in the ass, I wasn't really happy about it, but I thought I'd go along the judgement of someone who knew what's what."

"Perhaps it was not the smartest thing you've done..." Ozpin said, "But I can say that it was the wisest. It is sadly true. The situation is still such that any news about the White Fang are often automatically linked with faunus in general by those who irrationally hate their kind. It's good that you considered her viewpoint and was willing to shoulder the burden of explanation all by yourself. You and your brother are quite the paragon of virtues, the strength of your characters... is the quality of heroes."

June's cheeks were reddened slightly as she rubbed the back of her head, "Nah, I was... I was just doing what I thought was right, s'all..." she said with an embarrassed but satisfied-looking smile.

"The world could use more people that can see clear distinction between what's right and what's not." Ozpin remarked with complete honesty, "Out of curiosity, do you know of the names of those you fought?"

"Um... just one." She said, "He's a red-haired guy with a pair of horns on both right and left sides of his head, a bull faunus if I have to guess. His name's Adam."

There was a rather long session of silence after she revealed the name and the description. "...By any chance, is his complete name Adam Taurus?" Ozpin asked.

"I don't know, I've never asked the ex-White Fang girl." June answered, "Why? What if that was his name?" she asked back.

"Adam Taurus is one of the leaders of the White Fang, and is very well-known for his capability in combat." Answered Glynda, "He is not someone a rookie Huntsman or Huntress in-training should face, let alone capable of defeating. "

"...Well I did defeat someone named Adam." June insisted with a shrug.

"Is there anything that he did during your fight that could make us more certain?" Ozpin asked with the desire to be certain of the man's identity.

"Well, his Semblance is a reaction-type, basically, he absorbed all of the energy and force from my one attack, making the red slits on his mask glow along with his hair and then he released it back in one slice." June described it.

"You... faced this attack head-on?" asked Ozpin.

"No, I slid under it." She answered, "I riled him up first so that he'll be too hasty and after dodging that, it's easy to take him down."

A trickster fighter? It seemed that she possessed a keen mind in a fight. Not to mention the fact that by her description, it was indeed _the_ Adam Taurus whom she fought and defeated. "Very impressive, Ms. Arc. You defeated someone who, by all rights, is above even some Beacon alumni."

"...Was he really _that_ impressive?" she asked with a frown, "But then again, dad always says that my Semblance is a cheat on its own..." she muttered.

"Your Semblance?" Ozpin asked before he shared a look with Glynda. Knowing her brother's... Mantle, they were curious if any of his siblings possessed it as well, "What is your Semblance, if I might ask?"

"Well... it's basically," she lifted her left hand a bit and allowed it to manifest as a thin film of blue light that coated her hand, "a force field," She then controlled it to become a ball that she grabbed using the tip of her index finger and thumb, "which I can manipulate," she then pressed the ball until the tip of her fingers touched and when she opened them, the force field stretched into a thin string as if it were made out of rubber, "to a great degree," she then pinched it again before she snapped her fingers towards a spot on the wall and caused the force field to hit it with such force that it created a very small, crater-like dent, "and for many purposes."

She turned to look at the surprised Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress and continued, "I can use it to protect myself by covering my whole body with it, I can enhance Crocea Mors' lethality by shaping it to a very thin edge above the sword's double-edges," she patted the sheathed sword at her hip, "I can coat it over a small pebble and then shoot it like a bullet by colliding it with another force field-coated part of my body, I'm likely able to do anything I can think of using my Semblance, it's very versatile and powerful. However, I can only summon it at its most effective at a five meter-range, like so."

A pulse of blue light shaped like a sphere formed around her body, which is connected by a small funnel-shaped force field that sprouted from her back before it covered a five-meter diameter area in a dome-shape force field that was centered on her. She then called it back and continued again, "It's as strong as I can will it to be, I can break thick steel apart with a squeeze if I coat my hand with it, but it can get pretty tiring if I use it for a long amount of time."

"How long is too long?" Ozpin asked.

"Um..." she thought hard about it before she came up with a number; "In a fight, if I continuously use it to envelop every inch of my body along with fully-deployed Crocea Mors and constantly on the offensive, my guess is about twenty minutes."

...A Killer Semblance, wielded by quite an ingenious person who knew how to fight. No wonder she was capable of defeating Adam Taurus, this... This Semblance was something else entirely. Not to mention that she was a new wielder for Crocea Mors... The decision he made next was a no-brainer, "Ms. Arc... It's safe to say that you don't need to take an exam to enter Beacon." Her face brightened at that and he continued, "Glynda, please put her name on the list of accepted candidates."

With a small sigh that conveyed how she had expected this, Glynda said, "Yes sir." She agreed with the sentiment though, the girl's Semblance was so exceptionally powerful and versatile that it reminded her of her own telekinesis. It would be a travesty for her to not be accepted at Beacon.

"S-so... does this mean...?"

"Yes, Ms. Arc." Ozpin nodded as he stood and extended his hand towards her, "Welcome to Beacon."

The sight of Jaune's sister smiling and almost vibrating out of excitement was quite something to behold as she reciprocated the gesture. He wasn't kidding when he told him that he really wanted to become a Huntress who graduated from Beacon.

If only he could see his sister's face...

* * *

 _At an undisclosed location in the city of Vale..._

On the southern part of the city lies the agricultural district, where the houses were sparse and the land were more open with farms and fields designated for crops to grow along with the farm animals.

The blonde man known as Jaune Arc, wearing a white leather jacket above a dark blue t-shirt, a pair of dark red jeans held together by a yellow belt and covered his feet with black sneakers, walked towards an abandoned plant right on the edge of the city where the wall separated the district from The Wilds.

Alongside him was a brown-skinned girl wearing a certain blue hooded jacket above her new brown v-neck t-shirt, a black skirt that almost reached her knees and a pair of knee-high leather boots. To cover her brown hair, she wore a black cap with a visor long enough to shadow her eyes under the light of the sun.

"So... when you asked me to accompany you to meet someone, I didn't expect you'd take me to Vale's farming district." She remarked cheekily. "If I had known, I'd bring Albus along, Ozpin's given him quite an open field near Beacon, but he would've liked to gallop around with his kind."

"Yeah, I should've been clearer." Jaune said, "Then again, you agreed to it very quickly, I didn't think of it further." He remarked.

"Yeah..." she trailed off as she rubbed the back of her neck and looked away from the much taller man, "Then again, open areas like these remind me of the good things of my nomadic lifestyle. I certainly like it better than cities, that's for sure."

He took a slow deep breath before he smiled and nodded, "The fresher air is certainly nice."

"Yup." She agreed, "Still, why are we going to an abandoned plant?" she asked as they entered the abandoned field.

"Someone I know arranged a meeting with me there, and she asked me to bring you along." He answered, "She contacted me through my scroll." He brought out the scroll from the interior pocket of his jacket and then showed her the message.

 _Salutations, Mr. Jaune Arc._

She frowned at the strange written greeting and the fact that the number was listed as an unknown. "Who uses salutations as a greeting? On a written message no less?" she remarked out loud.

" _She_ does." Jaune answered with a shrug.

With that answered, she continued reading...

 _J: I have a feeling I know you._

'Is that greeting a quirk of hers?' she wondered with a slight frown.

 _Factually, you do. I am so glad you remember me!_

 _J: It's hard not to. How are you doing?_

 _I am performing at optimum capacity and could not be better. At least until I do become better. Can we meet again tomorrow?_

 _J: I'll ask for permission to have a day off. When and where?_

 _Vale's Agricultural District, an abandoned plant at the southernmost point. I shall wait there from sunrise to nightfall, so please do not worry about the time!_

 _Oh, and please bring Miss Amber along! This concerns her as well._

Who would wait for someone for a whole day instead of arranging the meeting at a specific time? 'What kind of person is she?' she asked mentally. "Uh, Jaune, what kind of person is this woman?" she asked out loud.

"If I had to use a word to describe her, it'd be... 'bizarre'." Was the answer that he gave as they passed the gateway leading to the empty parking lot in front of the abandoned plant.

Seeing the already opened gate of the plant, Jaune said to Amber; "Looks like she wants to meet us inside."

With a slight creak, the steel door opened wider, and into the dark, barely illuminated room where crops are processed and picked apart to determine which ones were good enough to be sold and then packaged. "Everything's... still here." Amber remarked, "Why haven't they dismantled it yet?" she wondered.

"Too much hassle I'd assume." Jaune surmised as he extended his hand to Amber, "My scroll, please."

Amber wordlessly gave it to him as she examined the surroundings. He opened up the message history again and waited in silence for a couple of seconds before a notifying beep sounded off and another message appeared...

 _Greetings! I am at the office on the top floor, overlooking both of you._

Looking over at the room located far in front of him, at least two floors above from where he and Amber were, he saw, through the large window, a silhouette of a feminine figure inside a barely illuminated office looking their way.

"Amber." Jaune called over to her and pointed to the office window where the figure waved and retreated back into the shadows.

Jaune moved forward towards the stairs and Amber followed suit, curious and determined to see this thing through.

Entering the office with a severe lack of lighting, Amber coughed due to how dusty it was.

"Mind turning on the light?" Jaune asked out loud to the figure in the dark.

"Of course." Echoed another woman's voice. For some reason, Amber couldn't help but to frown. The voice did not sound... normal.

The light was turned on, and though dim as it was, it managed to provide enough illumination for both Jaune and Amber to see the figure in full.

She was even smaller than Amber and was wearing a very oversized and thick white jacket with very stiff collar that covered her whole neck and was zipped from the upper edges of the collar all the way down, a pair of black skirts that reached her ankles and a pair of what appeared to be a pair of black boots. Her puffy hair was ginger, her eyes were emerald green and her skin was fair...

She appeared very human, but for some reason, Amber couldn't help but to frown in slight suspicion. 'Something about her doesn't seem right...' she thought to herself.

"Greetings Mr. Jaune, Ms. Amber." The young girl said with a slight bow, "My name is Penny Polendina. This is our first time meeting each other, Ms. Amber."

"Y-yes." Amber stuttered, why was she so unnerved by the girl? Perhaps it was because of how... stiff her body moved when compared to other people she knew of.

"And Mr. Jaune, it is sensational to meet you again!" she exclaimed with a wide smile before she walked over to him and shook his hand with both of hers, "I have to give you my immense gratitude for what you did last year, it was what is known as 'an eye-opening experience' for me!"

"I'm just glad you're alright from all of that," Jaune said, referring to something between them that Amber did not know, "When I last saw you, you were very disoriented."

"Indeed I was, and when I returned to my handler and was put on standby, I had to shut myself down to fully comprehend what happened to me." She answered, which made Jaune's eyes widen, "It took me three days and three nights... But at the end of it, I knew what I must do... And I did it."

"You ran away." He surmised, "You ran away from whoever it was who built you."

"Not exactly. I ran away from those who were housing me. My father and I are still in contact, though it's all done secretly." She answered.

"W-wait a minute!" Amber yelled out, "What do you mean by... 'built'?" she asked Jaune.

"Oh! I forgot that you have not been informed of my origin." The girl, Penny, stated before she opened up the zipper of her jacket.

Seeing this, Amber tried to reach out and stop her, "W-wait a minute! What are you-?!" only for her cry to be stopped on her tracks at the sight of what was beneath the jacket.

It was a female torso that looked more like a mannequin instead of a human body. Looking at that and the very much life-like head connected to it was surreal. Made out of metal coated with flesh-like color that matched the shade of the 'skin' of her head, it looked as if it was made to mimic a human's body contour.

"I am an Aura Gynoid. A robot, if you will. One that produces and capable of controlling Aura." She revealed.

"...Huh." was all that she could say. He wasn't lying when he said that she was bizarre.

"But I'm more than that now." She said before she closed her eyes, and Jaune and Amber saw as what appeared to be strings glowing bright green, viridian shade to be exact, sprouted out from all over her body. These strings, if one were able to take a closer look at them, appeared to be made out of numbers that constantly changes between zero to nine.

"T-this is...!" Jaune couldn't help but to exclaim out of surprise and sheer shock as his white cape materialized as well, billowing behind him. "It's just like-!"

"The Deputy Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch coined it as 'Mantle', yes?" Penny asked rhetorically, "This is mine... and that is yours." She said as she pointed at his white cape.

"You have... Mantle?" Amber asked, her eyes wide.

"Indeed." Penny nodded before she turned to look at Jaune in the eye with a smile on her face, "Thanks to you, Mr. Jaune."

* * *

 **To be Continued...**

* * *

 **So, Penny Polendina is on the spotlight, which will start off what I wanted to do to team RWBY a couple of other characters.**

 **The concept of Killer Semblance-the name of which is inspired by the term 'killer app'- should be something that is put in canon RWBY in my opinion, considering that Semblances aren't created equal, some are more powerful/versatile than others, case in point: Pyrrha's polarity, which made her the bane of every weapon-wielding characters, that is to say, the large majority of the characters.**

 **June Arc's Semblance is based from Fantastic Four's Sue Storm's force field, which made her the strongest out of the four thanks to how versatile** _ **and**_ **powerful it is with its malleability and sheer destructive potential, thus, a Killer Semblance. And it's also a natural counter to Pyrrha's polarity, she can't directly affect what is basically a film of solid energy/light with just her magnetic force, it's not strong enough to do that. The Semblance is also the reason why June isn't wearing any armor, it'll only hinder her down and durable force field which you can turn on and off at will is much more reliable than any armor.**


	6. Snippet From a Gynoid

**Disclaimer:** Nope, I still don't own RWBY.

* * *

Do robots dream? Even if she had something that can be said as a soul or something close to it within her, she could say with certainty that whenever she was shut down, she saw nothing that could constitute as one.

Penny had never truly struggled with this question before. She knew what she was, she knew what purpose she was built to fulfill, and to her, that was enough. The question never bothered her, as she knew that she would always answer it with a no.

It was logical for her, and it was all that was important, even as physical irregularities such as the feeling of a crushing weight bearing down on her always occurred whenever she thought about how not-human she was.

However, this time, as she 'slept', something was different.

Though she knew that her physical form was shut down, she was still capable of _feeling_ something. It was as if her whole body was contorted and being wrapped inside a cocoon thin enough for her to be vaguely aware of what was going on outside, but not thin enough for her to easily break through.

Was this a dream? She felt helpless, powerless, this wasn't at all like what her father told her when she asked what a dream was. Could this be a nightmare instead? Or perhaps even a sleep paralysis?

No answers were adequate for she was not a human, and thus she could only speculate. Isolated within this unfamiliar, alien place and bound by something invisible that seemed to have wrapped itself around her, she kept on thinking and thinking, speculating and contemplating, never once stopping, never once coming to a conclusion.

It continued on for hours and hours until finally...

She broke down.

* * *

 **Snippet From a Gynoid  
**

* * *

"You... broke down?" Jaune asked the girl sitting in front of him and Amber within the abandoned office.

"Yes." Penny answered with a nod, "It was akin to that of a 'snap' that one can get when they are suffering through a great mental stress. I remember that I stopped thinking for quite a while before I," she snapped her fingers at this, "'snap' myself back with effort."

Sitting on three somewhat dusty chairs set almost like a circle, it was as if they were at a group therapy. "It was something that I've never experienced before. Before, whenever my physical body shuts down, my mental functions follows suit, but it was the first time I've ever... dreamed. I was traumatized by the unfamiliarity, by how alien it felt, that it took me a while to adjust. At which point, I became more... aware of myself."

"But didn't you say you broke down?" Amber asked with a frown, "How does that help you gain... awareness?"

"It was a process that helped humanize me." She answered, "It shaped my mind beyond my programming, it broke not just that, but the shackles put into it, and when I came to, I realized that the Aura stored in me had become something more than just a source of metaphysical energy, it has transformed, _metamorphosed_ into a true soul..." her emerald-green eyes turned to look at Jaune then and she said with a smile, "And it's all thanks to you."

She reached out and grabbed his right hand inside two of hers before saying; "My father might've built me to be what I am, but you were the one who gave me life as it truly is, even he himself admitted as much to me. My gratitude to you cannot be quantified. A thousand thank yous will never be sufficient to express this... this joy I feel, of the capability I now possess to truly _feel_ , to feel truly alive...!"

Her lips quivered then and she shook her head, "If this body has its eyes equipped with disposable liquid ducts, it would be spilling right about now..." she muttered before she smiled brightly at him and said; "Thank you so much for how truly alive you made me feel!" she then kissed his hand and placed his palm on her forehead as she closed her eyes with a smile.

'Hoo boy, clearly she worships him.' Amber thought to herself with an uneasy smile. To his credit, Jaune simply began to pat her head while he looked very calm and collected about the whole thing... even if his eyebrows were furrowing.

Then the gynoid grabbed his hand so that he performed a most affectionate gesture one can ever do: Placing it on her cheek while her hand was grasping it by its back.

"...Penny, is this body..." he trailed off as he gently caressed her cheeks, "A new one? As I recall, your skin used to feel more like a textured plastic." He said.

"It is." Said the gynoid with a nod, answering a rather bizarre question no one, in any other situations, would ever ask, "This whole body is based on how I used to look back when we first met. Renewed and improved of course, but not by much, just enough to get by without anyone thinking that I look out of place and for you to recognize me by sight."

"So you have other bodies in your disposal?" Jaune asked, to which she nodded again, "...Where are you _really_ , right now?"

That question brought another smile to her face, though this time, realizing the fact that the gynoid's mind was being stored elsewhere and she was controlling the body from a remote location made Amber a bit queasy.

"I'm not nearby, that is certain." She dodged from giving them a real answer, "To be exact, I, my mind that is, is located at one of the volcanoes on the largely uninhabited continent far west from Vale."

...Huh. That was not what she expected. She just basically narrowed down the area if they ever wanted to search for her. But then, undeterred, Jaune continued, "I'm assuming that you've built some sort of base in or around it to protect yourself?"

"Oh yes, I have. It is armed and combat-ready, no opposition, be it Grimm or an army, can penetrate my defenses, many of them have tried after all." She answered. "Using the energy from the magma combined with my Mantle as a starting point, it was quite easy for me to built in, up and around the volcano."

"Wait, your Mantle helped you do that?" Amber asked before looking at Jaune, "The only thing I've ever seen _his_ Mantle do is just to materialize itself. Unless his strength is a part of it..."

"Hm." Penny let out a slight hum that accompanied her knowing smile, "It can be said that his incredible strength is what his Mantle is, and that the cape is simply how his soul manifested itself. However, it is also possible for a Mantle to have a direct effect on the environment."

The glowing strings made out of numbers were manifested once again, this time only one of them did and it was from the tip of her right index finger. It moved and latched itself onto a portable cooling fan right behind her and a second later, it was turned on, sending breezy air their way.

"These strings that I am connected to is a part of my Mantle. It allows me to connect myself to something and then control them using it. Like so..." they then saw as the fan began to contort, getting smaller and smaller until it could be held snugly between one's index finger and thumb, "In addition to that, I am also able to manipulate their nature to a degree."

"...I see, so you used that to learn what you need, and the first thing you need to build was... a base." He stated flatly before he frowned, "Is it because you were being chased by... whoever housed you?"

"I am still chased, yes, but they won't be able to find me now that I am self-sustaining." She answered, "In addition to that, my father does everything he can to throw them off my scent, so to speak, but I knew even then that I cannot rely on him for long, so the base is a needed redundancy to preserve myself."

Resourceful and not to mention powerful. That Mantle of hers was scary as its usage was practically limitless... and it was in the hands of a robot. A robot that the man at her side helped... uplifted, 'Was that even the right word?' she wondered herself.

She shook her head and focused on something more important: "W-wait, before we go any further..." she said, drawing the two's attention back to her, "How did you two meet? How did all of this... came to be?"

Penny looked at Jaune for a couple of seconds before he tilted his head upwards a bit towards her, gesturing her to be the one who should say it, which prompted her to nod and turn to Amber, "Well, it happened on a winter's night..."

* * *

 _A year ago..._

" _Designed to be as close to a human as a robot can be, it was logical to test how well I can integrate myself in a crowd. It happened to be my second outing with my Handler, and I was so excited because there was a longer timespan in which I am allowed to be left alone."_

" _In any other circumstances, that sentence is saddening."_

" _Indeed it is, Ms. Amber. However, what I understood back then was that I was created for a purpose and needed to be watched over. My personal freedom was less than nothing in the eyes of my handlers."_

" _..."_

" _Do not worry, I don't blame them for thinking less of me. Not to say that I won't hesitate to return the favor if given the chance~"_

" _...Uh..."_

" _That was a joke, Ms. Amber._

" _I_ hope _that was."_

" _Anyway, it so happens that there was a small winter festival at a town on the northern part of Atlas, a pretty good testing ground for how capable I am in integration."_

Two young women walked side-by-side amongst a crowd of people dressed in winter clothing from a long, long time ago, "Ooh, how very anachronistic to wear these kinds of clothes when we're surrounded by modern architecture." Penny remarked.

"It's called cultural festival Penny." Said her handler, a dark-skinned girl with navy blue eyes behind the lens of her glasses and dressed in blue-and-white ensemble completed with a blue beret on her head. "Something of this sort is to be expected."

"Would it not be more... appropriate for us to dress the part then?" Penny asked, considering that they were among the few who didn't wear the traditional clothes that everyone else seemed to be wearing. "Last time we did this, didn't we dress the part? The robes were very comfortable."

"It is to test how much suspicion you'll draw when not as blended in as you can be." Answered her handler, "And do keep the volume of your voice down." She reminded her.

"S-sorry Ciel." She sheepishly apologized, to which the young woman nodded.

"It's alright, let us just go." She said as adjusted her glasses and walked in front of Penny, prompting the ginger-haired gynoid to follow her lead as they walked amongst the crowd consisting of the locals.

" _As a gynoid, I did not actually need to sustain myself by eating or drinking, I don't even have to do so_ now, _but looking at those who enjoyed the culinary delights persuaded me to try one."_

"One salted wiener please." Penny ordered at a stall as Ciel stood quite a bit away behind her, still observing and writing on her scroll.

"Alright." Said the much taller blonde-haired man wearing a white-colored, smudged apron over a loose white shirt along with a white bandana standing behind the stall as he took a wiener, a stick, pierced the latter through the former, put it on the nearby grill and sprinkled a bit of salt over it as he rotated it.

" _What were you doing as a wiener cook?"_

" _I was looking for a night's sleep at an inn, so I volunteered to get a room with a bed for free. How do you call that, Amber? Wiener cook? Where did you learn that?"_

" _I think I know the town you went to, but continue, Penny."_

"Here you go miss." Said Jaune as he gave the wiener to Penny.

"Thank you, sir!" she enthusiastically said with a nod and gave her the payment before she turned to leave and began eating the treat.

When she got to her, Ciel immediately grabbed her by the forearm and pulled her away from the stall and deeper into the crowd. "Is something the matter, Ciel?" she asked.

"I've calculated the amount of time he spent looking your way, and I deem the way he was looking at you to be suspicious." Was all she said without looking at her, "He might not know anything, but better to be cautious than leaving it to chance."

" _Wow, kind of paranoid, wasn't she?"_

" _Well, I_ am _a very valuable asset, Ms. Amber."_

" _I'd say, but still, it's pretty unnerving."_

They both then spent their time enjoying the festival. Though her status made it a bit risky for her to partake in a lot of activities, considering that her strength, even sans Aura, was many times more than that of an Aura-wielding weight-lifting athlete.

The festival was first created long ago, before the time of the Great War and most of the locals had said that the tradition stretched back to the days where Humanity did not have dust. A group of people, in an attempt to ward off the Grimm, deduced that if they were drawn by their negative feelings, then the reverse would be their deterrent.

To this end, the group created an event in which for a single day, everyone was encouraged to have fun and provided them with plenty of food and ways with which one can entertain themselves, such as games, songs and even bodily pleasure, all to ward off the Grimm.

" _Yeah, I definitely know the town..."_

When it proved to work, the knowledge was spread, and thus the first known Festival was born. At present time, thanks to the creation of dusts and technology that allowed for the preservation of resources, the festival can last for a whole three days with different type of entertainment sans what is now named as prostitution.

They have become civilized after all, and there's a place for that kind of stuff, and that was not the place where parents would take their children to.

Penny and Ciel's walk amongst the locals was halted when the latter pulled her by the hand again into a nearby alley. "Alright. It is time." Declared Ciel as she looked at the clock on her scroll. She turned to the vibrant gynoid and said, "Starting from thirty seconds from now, at 20:00 P.M., you are given one hour and thirty minutes of free time in which you are allowed to explore on your own. Now, I know you can handle yourself, you have the capability to do so, but do be cautious, okay? You are very valuable to Atlas, and we are giving you a lot of trust, so do not fail us."

" _I like this woman less and less as this goes on. And her being from Atlas is not helping me improve my view about her."_

" _Oh Ciel's just worried over her company's asset, it's understandable."_

" _How could you just wave it off like that? You can think for yourself, you're not just some... machine, you're a person, in a lot of ways."_

" _I know that now. Even though I didn't have that awareness back then, looking back now, I can understand that Ciel is not someone who deserve to be hated, because in a way, she does care about me, but she is very dedicated to her job, and thus why she tried to maintain her professional attitude."_

" _I see... Regardless, it still bothered me."_

" _Hm... You're a very accepting person, Ms. Amber."_

" _Thank you. And please, just call me Amber."_

" _Very well, Amber. Now, where was I...? Oh yes!"_

"Understood, Ciel." Penny said with a resolute nod as she felt what was known as 'elation', as evident from the way her core rumbled in anticipation of this free time.

"Here is your credit card, please use it responsibly, as it is still money from Atlas." Said Ciel before she took a deep breath,"Very well then..." she said as she set up a timer. "It starts from... now."

Penny took off the moment Ciel finished, she practically skipped away from her handler and vanished into the sea of people. With everyone in high spirits, the sight of anyone skipping their way around was not that uncommon, and as such, she did not attract a lot of attention.

Being amongst humans, among other people, was something that made Penny's steps lighter. She supposed that it was because she was used to being left by herself. While yes, she was always accompanied by at least two people there, it wasn't as if they were interested in actually talking to her.

They regarded her only as that thing in the room that attracted attention but never worth one unless the situation called for it, like an ashtray in the living room of a house inhabited by non-smokers, reserved only for when a smoker came in and asked for one.

" _That's... awfully specific."_

" _It kind of fits though, right?"_

Here, even if she was just a part of a crowd, she felt more... involved. No longer was she an object, she was a part of a group that regarded her as one of their own. With a smile that she didn't realize she had been making ever since she left Ciel, she began to think on what to do and visit during this festival.

Mid-way, she found the man who had sold her the wiener-

" _Amber, I noticed that the edges of your lips twitched every time I said that word, why is that?"_

" _It's often linked with the word penis, Penny."_

" _...Oh! I see, thank you Jaune. I have to say, that is rather immature of you, Ms. Amber."_

" _Hey, wiener's a funny word."_

" _It is a bit, yeah, I have to agree with her."_

" _...Very well, I'll concede to both of you on that."_

-that she quite enjoyed-

" _*snort*"_

" _But Ms. Amber, could you please not?"_

" _S- Sorry!"_

He was out of the apron and was wandering around the area with his hands on the pockets of his black sweat pants. Surrounding him were kids who were asking him about where the shooting and apple dunking contest were being held, to which he pointed at the opposite direction of where she was.

For a moment, she wondered why the children were asking him that until she saw that he was wearing a pin on his shirt that said 'guide'. Her mind decided on a course of action then, she approached him and asked, "Excuse me."

"Yes?" he responded as he turned to look at her, "Hello miss, what can I do for you?" he asked, and she knew the look of recognition on his face. He remembered her!

"My name's Penny, can you tell me where the best place to go to right now?" she asked.

"...Well, there's the town center, where the statue of Barnum Browne is located. That's where most of the game stalls are located." Jaune said before he pointed the way, "It's a bit far from here, but follow the lane until you see a statue on the center of a roundabout."

"I see..." she said before a thought crossed her mind. This was all supposed to be a test, right? What would happen if... "Um, Mr. Guide, can I ask you to accompany me there?" she asked.

"...Alright." he answered with a shrug, "It's also a part of my job." He added before he said, "Follow me, Miss Penny."

From a few inches behind him, she followed. "So why are you a guide now, mister?" she asked, truly curious, "Why aren't you at your stall anymore?"

"Apparently, one of the guides left for some reason so they came and asked me. It wasn't even my stall anyway, and the guy who owned it agreed, so here I am." He answered.

"I see." Was all Penny said as her curiosity was sated. Looking around her surroundings, Penny found something that was... a bit odd. "Um, can I ask you a question?"

"Yes?" he asked, slightly turning his head to meet her eyes.

"I have not seen a single faunus around, are they not welcome to join the festival?" she asked, more out of confusion than curiosity.

"...Are you not a local, Miss Penny?" he asked, "Everyone here knows that faunus isn't exactly accepted." He answered, "Atlas, especially the northern part of it, isn't exactly kind... to their kind." He answered.

" _Hm, nice pun."_

" _Thanks."_

"Is that a play on words?" Penny asked before she frowned, "Somehow, my head hurts after hearing that."

" _It wasn't intentional."_

" _Still unpleasant."_

"It wasn't intentional."

"Still..." Penny felt a sense of exasperation hearing that, why so? Something she needed to look up after all this. "Regardless, why is that?" she asked.

"Most of the people here equate faunus in general with the terrorist group White Fang." He answered, "And then, there's also the fact that Atlas is where Schnee Dust Corporation originates, the Corp. that utilize Faunus laborers as miners who are not paid fairly nor given humane treatment."

Penny was silent at that. SDC was the initials plastered on almost every wall of her 'home', they were partly responsible for her creation, and knowing that they dealt with something so... _inhuman_... "A-are they really not treated well?" she couldn't help but to ask.

"Most of them are, I've seen a lot of them firsthand." He answered.

" _Wait, you have?"_

" _Yes. It was... a couple of years before I met Penny. It was not pretty, to say the least."_

" _W-well... did you help them?"_

" _I did, I helped some escape. I helped more when I came across similar labor camps, but I didn't turn it into some sort of a campaign."_

" _Why not?"_

" _Let me continue the story then, please."_

"Did you? W-were they really suffering?" she asked.

"...Some of them were. Some of them... were treated more fairly, but not regarded as equals to their handlers." He answered.

"...Y-you know, if you can break them out of one, you can, in theory, break them out of all of them." She surmised, wanting to continue this conversation out of a feeling known as morbid curiosity. For him to say this stuff out loud to her was... rather foolish of him, but for someone to open up to her like this felt... refreshing, "But you are implying that you didn't continue to do so."

"I didn't, yeah."

She noted that he was... bummed by that admission, "Why not?" so she continued her question.

"Because of the refusal I met from some of them. Some of them didn't want to leave because for the most part, they were given a rather fair treatment, some didn't want to become a fugitive, some had people inside they cared too much about... Not all of them could escape, not all of them wanted to, I helped who I could and in the end, even though those I saved continued on with better livelihood... I saw some among them joining White Fang and ended up hating _all_ humans, committing atrocities and excusing their actions as 'long overdue retribution'."

"...Oh." was all that she could say. All the computing power she possessed in her head, and nothing could suffice for a good reply to that revelation.

"In the end, all this suffering is caused because Faunus labor is the cheapest, most cost-effective way to gather Dust, which is used for basically everything, up to and including weapons we use to either ward off or hunt Grimm. There are people in SDC who are trying to find a way to replace this barbaric method, but because of the constant threat of Grimm, this is what we have for now that works without costing too much money. Unless we can use anything other than Dust as our main energy resource or eliminate all the Grimm completely from the face of this planet, this will keep on happening."

So passionate he was and considering that he had basically admitted to what was tantamount to a crime...

" _Wait a minute, that's a good point, why did you say all that stuff? She was a stranger to you back then."_

" _I gave the answer after what happened next, didn't I, Penny?"_

" _You did, so please be patient, Amber."_

'Who is this person?' Penny wondered, he didn't seem like an average person now that she looked at him. Tall with very pronounced muscles densely and tightly packed, he didn't seem like a civilian. "But... isn't Grimm population at an all-time low?" she asked, she didn't know if it was true, it was something she had heard many times however that it stuck.

His response was to nod with a sigh, "Many don't believe that, including some of the higher-ups in the SDC who don't want anything to change."

Implying that even if it were true, it will still be hard for anything regarding this atrocity to change. She noticed that it depressed her to think upon the complexity of this whole thing, and looking at him, she realized that he had a look of sorrow on his face that made her realize how nosy she had been and how the topic of the conversation was the root cause of it.

'Oh no! What to do, what to do...?' she fidgeted for a second before she reached out and patted his back, "There there..." she said with a slight uncertainty in her tone of voice.

"...Thank you, Ms. Penny." He answered with a nod and a small smile.

"You're welcome, Mr. Guide." She said before she frowned, "Um, I'm sorry, but what's your name?" she asked, inwardly berating herself for having forgotten to ask him his name.

"Jaune. Jaun-"

An explosion occurred at that exact moment, coming from the town center. Both she and Jaune turned towards where the light of the fire that was now engulfing a building shined brightly.

As the others around them began to panic and either started recording the spectacle with their Scrolls or started running, both Jaune and Penny were looking at the situation with different expressions on their faces: Jaune was one of determination and Penny was one of concern.

When Jaune began to walk _towards_ the burning building, she called, "M-Mr. Jaune, wait!" she said as she caught his hand, "You're going there to stop them, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yes, why?" he asked.

"...Take me with you." She said.

It was a moment of impulse that seemed to have come out of nowhere. She wanted... this. Why did she want this? Logic was supposed to be what dictates her every move, after all, the logical option was to find Ciel and get away from all of this yet this was something new, something different.

It was foolish, it was exciting, it was scary, yet it was also refreshing. An event she didn't predict to happen near her happened, yet why did she feel drawn to it instead of away from it?

Little did she know then that it was because she was not a logic-driven automaton with no thoughts of her own. She kept looking at his deep blue eyes, both pleading him to accept and daring him to not to.

"...Can you fight?" was all that he asked, and she quickly nodded and said...

"I am combat-ready." She answered.

"Alright, but stick close to me." Was what he said before he began to briskly walk towards the fire, forcing her to match his pace or else she'd lost him amidst the crowd that were going the other way.

Mid-way, another building was hit with an explosion. It caused another wave of panic in the crowd of people surrounding them and it prompted Jaune to run. Understanding the need for urgency, Penny followed suit without calling to him to slow down.

Arriving at the town center, they saw as a group wearing white masks that matched that of some Grimm species were fighting against the guards designated for the festival with some of them already lying lifelessly on the ground amongst other civilians. White Fang they were. Around them were trails of oil that led to other buildings that have yet to be set aflame.

Penny had never seen... such a sight. She knew and had seen people when they were breathing, talking, living... Seeing their bodies lying there, not moving in any way... It made her feel... The closest word that came close to describing this feeling was nauseous.

All the power of her programming failed her then as she experienced what is known in human psychology as a mental shutdown. She couldn't even form a coherent thought, let alone speak. She was built not just to think, but to feel, it was all an effort to make her seem normal, human, and right now, it was backfiring.

Thankfully, the man at her side noticed this and tapped her shoulder. "Hey," he called to her, making her turn her slightly unfocused eyes at him, "if you can't handle it, it's okay." He told her.

She gulped. She thought she was combat ready, but... clearly her father had not prepared her for this, he had not done his best to make her face the death of other people when it was right in front of her.

The sound of flesh squelching made them turn, and they saw as one of the guards were defeated by way of a blunt trauma to the head using a steel weapon that embedded itself into his skull."Hah! Another one down! ...Hey! Here's another one of them!" one of the White Fangs yelled at both Jaune and Penny.

The moment the others' attention were turned, Jaune struck. She didn't manage to see him move, one moment he was at her side, the next second, she saw him behind the farthest White Fang individual from where she was and _then,_ she saw the terrorists fell down to the ground, not moving, but not lifeless either.

Her mind once again failed to compute what had happened. This time though, it wasn't because of a faulty programming that did not allow her to overcome the idea of death once it's right in front of her.

She saw his right fist is clenched as his deep blue eyes seemed to shine as if they were a pair of burning blue fire that was slowly turning paler as it get even hotter. He spent only a moment to look at those who were down before he turned to the burning buildings, his eyes narrowed, the scowl on his face was even more pronounced.

He then moved, and this time, Penny saw him charging into the burning building with nothing to protect himself with. "Wait-!" she tried to stop him, but it was too late. He went into the inferno.

At that moment, another explosion occurred from behind her. This time, it was the nearby town hall that was now burning. Something took hold over her then, something that was far from logic and reason, something that was so backwards from sanity, and Penny took a moment to build her resolve before she charged in, fully-intent on helping those who might be trapped.

The conflagration within produced hellish heat that she could barely withstand. Though she could get by without breathing for a long while, the heat could produce problem all on its own. However, seeing the destruction that was still going only boosted her resolve as she went deeper.

The fire had consumed many lives, but thankfully, not all of them were lost. There were people who were still alive but badly burned, incapable of even screaming for help, and Penny moved to help them all one by one as the building were slowly crumbling.

She didn't care to count how many she has saved, as long as the building was still standing, she would go in, take those who were still alive out before she went back in. After what felt like hours, she went into the bowels of the town hall.

The heat was slowly getting to her, her dress, which was nicely made by the people at Atlas were partly burned, but she kept on going, trying to find anyone whom she could save. It was then that she heard the faint sound of someone breathing amongst the roaring flame.

It was weak, shallow, as if their lungs were damaged. She followed the sound to the nearby female bathroom and saw a number of bodies, all burned up from head to toe, spread around the area.

Among the dead however, lied someone who was still alive. She saw her then, in the embrace of the two older women, a child who couldn't be older than five, not as badly burned as they were, and was still alive.

Penny, wordlessly and with haste, removed the child away from who were presumably her mother and older sister by how old they appeared and held her gently as the child began to wheeze, as if she was trying to cry but unable to because of the smoke.

With her body, Penny shielded the child as she charged through the fire that was slowly getting worse. When she got upstairs, she found that the main door was blocked by debris, indicating that the fire was winning against the building's durability and she quickly looked for an alternative route.

It was unnecessary however as the debris blocking the main door were destroyed by an external force who also took her and the child to a nearby dark alley. After she regained her bearing, she turned to look who it was, and it turned out to be Jaune, whose clothes had been burned off sans for his still somewhat intact pants.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

"I am... still functioning well, thank you." She said, still somewhat shocked by how fast he was.

Then, they heard the small girl in her arms beginning to cough. Once she was out of the smoking environment, her lungs began to repel it all in response. However, alongside the damaging fumes, she was also coughing blood that splattered all over Penny's dress.

To her credit, she didn't care about that as she was more concerned about the girl, "U-Um...! M-Mr. Jaune, w-what should I do?!" she turned to the man. She was at a loss as to what she should do to help her.

"...Don't scream." He told Penny, and before she could do anything, he covered the girl's mouth with his left hand and plunged the fingertips of his right hand into the girl's chest. She then saw a pulse of white aura surging through him and into the girl.

Before Penny could even say anything, the girl in her arms began to scream against his palm as smoke was quickly coming out of her nose and mouth. What was happening? What was he doing? Was the girl in pain? These questions, among others with similar subjects in question were hammering her mind as she saw with her own two eyes that the burns the girl had received slowly healed itself as she continued to scream.

The moment ended when Jaune removed his fingertips from her chest, and the girl stopped screaming and fell limp, having been rendered unconscious. "...W-what did you do?!" Penny half-whispered half-screamed, "H-how was that...? Did you use your Aura to heal _other_ people? How can you do that?"

"Connecting my Aura to their body in a continuous stream." He answered bluntly.

"But how is that even possible? Exchanging Aura to heal oneself at that rate is impossible, let alone doing it to other people!"

"My Aura on its own didn't heal them." He said, "Through the connection I made, I forced her body's recovery rate to rise up to my level for a moment. If I can actually _heal_ , it would've been painless."

"...That...! That's even more unprecedented and impossible!" Penny said. He was basically saying that he can use his Aura to manipulate others' to a degree, "How did-?!"

"Let me stop you right there before you get off on a tangent." He said with a raised hand, "Are you _sure_ you're alright?" he asked before he continued, "Your body is leaking... fluid."

"E-eh?" Penny looked down and indeed, through her synthetic skin, the fluids that were supposed to serve as moisturizer for it were leaking. "A-ah! T-this must be because I took too long in that fire!"

"Let me try to help you." Jaune said with his right hand raised slightly. "Though I'm pretty sure that a human body isn't supposed to react that way, I'm more than willing enough to try this on you."

"W-well..." If he didn't suspect anything before, then he would've wised up _now_. "The liquid _is_ designed to regenerate after a set amount of time by recycling moisture in the air so-"

"Ah, what's that puddle behind you?" he asked.

Looking back, she saw that there was indeed a large puddle behind her. It was dark red, identical to that of blood, and it was slowly pouring out of her. "...A-ah, this is a problem... This is technically my blood, its function is to channel heat and energy along with Aura and..." she closed her eyes to diagnose the damage and with a grimace, she said what she found, "I-I seem to have... missed... a wound on my back... when I..."

Slowly, she began to feel weaker, and noticing this, Jaune gently took the kid from her arms and set her down to the side, her back leaning against the wall. "Alright, now will you accept my help? I'll try to help, I don't know if it'll work or not with your physiology, but I want to try."

If she ceased to function outside of her charging platform, what would happen? It was unfamiliar to her, and thus she didn't want to experience it, not when there was a chance for that to not happen was being offered.

"...V-very well." She answered, "P-Please... do what you can."

He nodded before he lifted his hand and with a swift thrust, he implanted the fingertips of his right hand onto the center of her chest.

When it happened to the young girl, she screamed because of the pain. In Penny's case however, being a robot as she was, for a second, she managed to comprehend the fact that her senses were being overloaded, she registered both pain and pleasure at a scale that caused neither of them to cancel each other out but instead complimenting each other somehow, and in a split-second, her mind and body shut themselves down.

* * *

 _Present time..._

"When I came to, he was there, waiting for at least ten minutes until I rebooted myself. I remembered how... strange I felt it all was, because, -I only realized this after the scientists checked my conditions, mind you- even though the 'blood' did not regenerate, I somehow managed to regain consciousness and control over my body."

"So even from the start, what he did had changed you?" Amber asked.

"Yes." Penny nodded with a small smile, "Sometime later, we parted ways when I said that I must get back to my handler. Jaune took the little girl and walked away to find anyone who might know her, and when I got back to Ciel, she immediately took me away from the town and straight back to base, which led to my... three-day coma."

Penny took an over-dramatic sigh of relief, "Phew! And that's the story of my first time meeting him. Boy, that was a bit of a long one, wasn't it?" she asked rhetorically.

"Wait a minute though, you still didn't answer why Jaune trusted you so much to tell you about him breaking out some Faunus from SDC."

"Oh yes! After all was said and done and we were about to part, I asked him that question."

" _Why did you say all of that to me? About the Faunus you'd rescued from SDC Mines? We've only just met, and... Well, I am... not what you might've thought I am."_

" _I find it easy to trust people with genuine curiosity. You asked that because you didn't know and wanted to sate your need to know, so I gave it."_

" _...Your reasoning is so simplistic. What if I was being duplicitous?"_

" _I'd know."_

" _Just like that?"_

" _Just like that."_

" _How?"_

" _Because I have a good pair of eyes and a sharp set of ears on me."_

"...Are you implying that you're a living lie detector?" Amber asked with a suspicious frown.

"Ah, yeah, all these enhanced strength and speed that I have? They need enhanced senses so that they can be used effectively." Jaune answered, "I knew something was up with her the moment she got close to me because the sounds that her body make are _very_ different to the sounds that a human body produces, and the way she just oozes innocent ignorance was another clue. Everyone I've ever met in Atlas, ranging from young adults and above them, know about the SDC and their iron grip on their Faunus workers, so putting two and two together makes four, as the saying goes."

"...So unfair, is there anyway I can get what you have instead?" she asked again, a bit miffed.

"Ah, thank you for bringing us to the next topic of conversation, Amber." Penny announced with a loud clap, "What if I tell you that not only can he give you Mantle, but also that I am able to take away that Maiden power from you if you so choose?"

...Nobody made any sound for quite a while after what Penny said.

* * *

 _Meanwhile, on another part of Vale..._

"The city sure is different." Remarked June as she walked beneath the mid-afternoon light, among the people who were now spending their time to browse shops in the shopping district of the city of Vale.

She was what many would call as a country girl, having lived almost all her life away from great beacons of civilizations in Remnant such as their metropolises, being treated to the sight of buildings so close to the adjacent ones at their sides and how tall they can stretch was quite a novelty.

Seeing it firsthand and knowing about it were two different things after all.

Now that the whole 'getting into Beacon' thing was wrapped up, -faster than she thought at first even- she decided to spend the day in Vale to spend the pocket money that was given by her parents.

The sound of her stomach rumbling made her groan,"I really need to have lunch..." she thought before she looked around for a place to eat. "And there's so many to choose, too..." In her excitement, she barely noticed how she was about to collide onto a person head-on as the one in front of her were looking at the scroll on their hand.

"Oof!" When they crashed onto each other, the much smaller person fell on her butt, which was the only likely end result, considering she collided against the much taller June. She then yelled out, "Watch where you're going, you big brute!" said the asymmetrical ponytailed white-haired girl wearing an all-white ensemble as her bright blue eyes, the left one of which sported a vertical scar, glared at June's sea-green ones.

"Oh! Sorry, I was too preoccupied, sorry!" she said as she helped the girl up to her feet, "I'm really sorry, miss." She said as she bowed her head down a bit.

"Hmph! What were you doing anyway? You have eyes, don't you? Why did you not see me walking right in front of you?" she questioned with a huff.

"Um... I was hungry and looking for a place to eat." She explained rather sheepishly.

Once again, the short but nevertheless haughty girl huffed, "That's no good excuse to not pay attention when you're walking on the street, you know!"

"And again, I'm very sorry about that, miss...?" she asked, still being the calm one in the argument, though it was a rather trying experience.

There was another moment of silence after June asked for her name, in which the white-haired girl raised one eyebrow and examined June closely as she cupped her chin. "Hm... you look familiar, especially with that sheathed sword on your hip, have I seen you before?" she asked.

"Um, well..." June began to think hard. The girl did not look as if she had ever been outside of a city with the way she's dressed, those clothes looked so high-class and custom-made to fit her, yet she seemed to recognize her by the way she carried Crocea Mors, so... "Well, I was just from Beacon, so you might've seen me there, I guess?"

"...Ah!" the girl voiced out as she seemed to recall something, "I _did_ see you there! You were escorted by the Headmaster himself to his office!" she exclaimed as she pointed at June, "So you're a Huntress then, if not at least a second-year Huntress-in-training?" June saw as her face turned stone-like for a moment before a slight blush formed on her cheeks, "...I sincerely apologize for my behavior." She said with a slight courteous bow.

June's right eye twitched a bit before she addressed the problem, "So if I _wasn't_ a Huntress or a second-year Huntress-in-training, you would just demand an apology from me and not reciprocate, huh?" she asked before she pointed at the Scroll behind her, "Cause' the way I see it, it seems that I wasn't the only one who weren't paying attention out of the two of us."

As if she had been caught doing something embarrassingly wrong, she quickly picked her Scroll back up and put it in her purse, "W-well..." she blushed as she fidgeted in her attempt to keep herself calm, "I-I mean, even if you weren't one of those things, I was going to apologize either way." She tried to backtrack, trying to salvage the first impression that she just made with the taller, blonde young woman. "I'm not an e-elitist or anything, just so you know!"

June simply sighed and waved it off, "Right, right, anyway, you still haven't told me your name."

"...Do you really not know who I am?" she asked then, as if surprised and slightly in disbelief.

"Not really, why? Are you somebody important?" June asked before her eyes narrowed a bit, "And that's very presumptuous from someone who's _not an elitist_ to assume somebody they just met should know who she is."

"I'm not an elitist!" she yelled, apparently she really resented being called or even implied that she was one. "A-anyway, I am Weiss Schnee, and you are?" she asked.

June simply sighed, feeling rather tired already from the first meeting with the white-haired girl, "June Arc." She introduced herself.

This time, her bright blue eyes seemed to brighten when June revealed herself, "Arc?" she said out loud, "My goodness, I-I see... it's a pleasure to meet you." Weiss said with a slight nod and extended her hand, suddenly becoming all friendly and such.

"Hey hey, after I've seen you becoming all indignant over getting accidentally bumped into by a stranger you assumed as lower than you, don't try to be all friendly-friendly now." June stated flatly.

June saw Weiss' face turned amazingly red at that as she pulled her hand back and cast her head down either out of embarrassment or shame. "I-I'm sorry you had to see that part of me, it was a force of habit, again, I sincerely apologize for my horrible behavior." She said, "Can I take you to lunch as a form of apology?" she offered right afterwards.

June's expression softened at that, 'Well, she's trying to make it up... at the very least, she can admit she was in the wrong when she was and tries to hold herself accountable.' She thought before she answered Weiss' question, "Thank you for the offer, but-"

"I _insist_." Weiss said as she drew herself closer to June, her face conveyed how adamant she was yet the blush was still present on her cheeks, even if she wasn't as red as before, "I was less than courteous to you, and you were in the right, I was acting too imperiously when I should be clear-headed and objective. I made a mistake, I recognize that, so I want to make it up to you. Please, let me do just that through this."

Looking at the smaller girl's determined expression, June realized that she won't let it go.

"...Alright then."

So she decided then that she'd just go along with it. She was hungry, the girl was offering her lunch, what was the worst thing that could happen?

* * *

 **To be Continued...**

* * *

 **So Weiss enters the stage. Wonder what will happen from her meeting with June?**

 **And as for Ciel, who is Penny's 'teammate' in the show, I have a theory that she's more than she seems. Considering Penny's value to Atlas, there's no way that she'd be left to mingle with anyone not in the know, especially with how she behaves most of the time, so I believe that Ciel is actually someone from Atlas, ordered directly by either James Ironwood or some other Atlas higher-up involved in Penny's creation to watch over her.**

 **As to why Penny knew Ciel just as a teammate, she _is_ a gynoid, her memory can be easily manipulated to make her forget her previous trips with her and make her _think_ that Ciel is her teammate while in truth, she's her handler.**


	7. Lunch with a Schnee

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the original sources I have used and/or will use as a base for the stories I publish here.

* * *

Every day he grew stronger. Her brother was like a beast driven by a singular purpose, as everyday, when he was not in a training session with their parents, he dedicated a lot of time to exercise by himself.

Whether it was to improve his body, control over his Aura, weapon-wielding skills, he'd go do it without needing anyone to tell him to. It was as if every second of the day was like an opportunity, which he always seized, to become better.

Their parents were worried but nevertheless complying with his behavior. Their sisters accepted his behavior, though not without some concern over it, as all of them continued trying their best to treat him like what he was; An eight year-old boy who deserved to have a childhood but was driven to become an adult faster than his body allowed.

As for June, she didn't understand why their parents and sisters did not see him like she did. Perhaps it was because she was his little sister, that being the youngest out of all of them granted her some perspective that was remarkably different.

To her, her brother was a figure to look up to. He was different than the other kids she knew, he was like an adult in a sense, but much more... understanding, much more caring in a way. It separated him, alienated him from other people his age, but she saw only a big brother whom she could depend on.

However, within her lied the fires of ambition. She desired to not only be able to depend on him, but she also wanted to stand by his side, to stand together at the same level.

Perhaps she was heavily influenced by the bedtime stories her father always told her. About the Arcs of old, families who, in the days before Dust, took it upon themselves the task to protect those who were helpless against the Grimm. Most of these stories involved Arc siblings who stood together side-by-side against any adversaries.

Maybe that was the reason why she wanted to become strong, so that when the time came, they will be able to stand together against... Whatever the opposition might be, be they Grimm or other forces of evil. An idealistic dream to be sure, but one that she held close to her heart.

Which is why she was so desperate in getting her parents to do the same thing they've been doing with Jaune.

" _But mom!"_

" _Enough, June! Your brother is different, how many times must I say it?!"_

" _Dad, please, just give me a chance!"_

" _I'm sorry June, but we don't want to force you so early."_

" _Who's forcing anything?! I_ wanna _do it, you're not forcing anyone!"_

" _You're forcing yourself, June! You're not ready!"_

" _Then what makes Jaune different?!"_

As she sat at a bench at a local park, the seven year-old June Arc recalled the silence that lasted for longer than five seconds after she asked the question. The late afternoon sky, illuminated by the setting sun, cast its orange light at June's sorrowful eyes as she remembered what her father's answer to that was.

" _What makes him different... is because he basically left us with no other option. He unlocked his Aura all on his own and he... Even if we chose to let him be, he'll still train himself. At the very least, your mother and I thought that we should give him direction."_

" _...You have to understand, June. Once your Aura is unlocked, the whole world changes. Aura gives you power yes, but that power... also draws in the very things it is designed to destroy."_

Aura was a great beacon for Grimm to be drawn to. It was supposed to be someone's soul after all, and the Grimm is known to be attracted to emotions, which some theories suggest to come from the soul, so it made sense.

They were worried about her. They were worried about her brother as well, but she realized that in his case, there was nothing they could do besides nurturing his already manifested talents.

...Yet it was still a bitter pill to swallow for June.

" _...But... But then, isn't giving me an early start the best way to go?"_

" _June-"_

" _No, I mean, can't you just-"_

" _June! This conversation is over! No is no!"_

" _But mom-!"_

" _Go to your room, June!"_

She didn't go to her room out of spite, she instead went to the park. 'They just don't understand... I can't... at this rate, I won't ever catch up with my brother...!'

She didn't want to just gaze at her brother from a distance, as it were. Right now though, he was quickly walking away as she was rooted in place, held back by her parents' concern. She understood that, but it still hurt her. She wasn't in the wrong with her drive to become better, but her parents' concerns overshadowed their judgment and deemed it as wrong.

If only she became as different as her brother was, if only she already had Aura.

"June."

His voice called out to her, and she looked up to see Jaune standing in front of her with a pair of boxed milk on his hand, which he extended to June. Strawberry too, her favorite. She took one with a small mumble of "Thanks."

He simply nodded and took a seat at her left side as she used the straw that came with the box to sip on the beverage.

"I heard what mom and dad said to you." He began, "How are you feeling?"

She sniffed and responded with an indignant, "I'm still angry..." she answered, "I get why they don't want to train me, but... There's nothing wrong in just... giving me Aura, right? Even if it draws more Grimm to me, it's not like they can't handle them."

"That's true." He said.

"Right? I mean, it's not like I'm going to charge at the Grimm right after the first day of training!" she yelled, "I just want to... I just want to be as strong as you." She said quietly with a pout before she fell silent.

"...June, when mom and dad said that I'm different... There's something else that they didn't tell you." He said, prompting his sister to look at him with curious eyes, "It's not just because I've unlocked my Aura, that's a part of it, but there's another thing that made them cave in and decided to teach me much earlier than other people would do to their children."

"...What is it?" she asked, curious but slightly hesitant, "I-is it because of what happened in Winsnow?" she asked.

The name of the now dead town was something that everyone in her family had non-verbally agreed to be referred to as 'That-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Said-Around-Him-Ever-Again'. Apparently, her brother got there alongside some of his adventurous but irresponsible friends and then it was attacked by hordes of Grimm that rendered the town lifeless... save for a precious few, which included her brother.

"It is." He nodded, "What happened there... changed me, June. The psychiatrists I've met told me it's because of the trauma, that being at the center of a tragic event caused my mind to... become warped. You've seen how guys at my school treated me, right? How they seem to not want me around?"

"Yeah, but I thought that's because you're just too cool for them." She answered honestly.

In response to that, her brother smiled and ruffled her hair, "That's not very likely though, June." He said before he then removed his hand from her head, "And it's not like I _want_ them to treat me as one of them either."

"...Huh?"

"I can't connect to them, June." He admitted as much, "After Winsnow, I just can't relate to them anymore."

"W-well, you're not though! You're better than them! You're _much_ cooler!"

"Maybe, but even then, that alone shows how much I've changed." He said, "My mental state is different now, and that's why mom and dad decided to train me. In a way, the Jaune who went to Winsnow... never got out of that place."

...June never knew that. She never considered that her brother had gone through something that changed him so much. Once again she recalled the fact that until the Incident, she had no memory of her brother that really stood out for her, so the reason why she was so accepting how he was now was because she didn't really know how he was back then nor did she fully understand what had happened to him.

Her brother was cool... because he's no longer a kid, despite him only being a year older than her. Though June didn't fully understand why, there was something about it that made her sad, devastatingly so in light of this revelation.

"W-well..." June, in a rather daring moment, chose to wrap her left arm around his right one, hugged herself closer to him and leaned her head against his shoulder. "You're here _now_... With me, mom, dad and our sisters, so... Even if you can't have any friends, you still have us."

Her courage surged up then as she continued, "A-and not to mention that I'm still growing, so...! So one day, I'll be as strong as you and then we'll be together!"

She saw as his brother's eyebrows rose up and an indulging smile, like one regularly see from a parent talking to his/her child, "Together as the undefeatable Arc duo?"

"Yeah! Just like I promised you back then!" she enthusiastically answered with a nod.

"Well... Be patient then, June." Was his reply, "You still got a long way to go, and a bit too far from the starting line. I might've gotten an early start, and I'm not going to slow down anytime soon, but once you're prepared to chase after me, you'll need to give your all if you want to be right at my side."

A challenge! He was not going to stop anytime soon, but he implied that he will wait for her and that she needed to work hard. With resolve that was as unbreakable as diamonds, she nodded. There was no way to accept this challenge but with an unambiguously positive answer.

"I promise, brother. I promise that I'll become strong as you once I can work on it. I'll work hard everyday to catch up to you." She said before she asked, "So... can you tell me how Aura is unlocked?"

With a sigh, Jaune's response was; "June, what did I tell you about being patient?"

Her response was to puff her cheeks and pouted at him, "Mmmmm~! Meanie..." she then turned her head to the opposite side of his position with a huff, "Fine, I'll wait until mom and dad allow me to train..." she sulked as she began to drink the rest of her strawberry milk.

"There there." Jaune said as she patted her back, to which she responded with snuggling closer to him and let him rub her shoulder instead.

Willful and determined, but more than willing to be spoiled if given an opportunity, especially by her brother. Such was June Arc.

* * *

 **Lunch with a Schnee**

* * *

The restaurant where the girl took June to was, in a word, elite. Four-star, classic architecture, luxurious furniture and impeccably-dressed employees, it was everything that she had seen in magazines that depicted the establishments that the rich and famous tend to use and/or visit.

'Jeez, the girl must have some rich parents or something...' she thought to herself, a bit overwhelmed by the sheer extravagance that the restaurant exhibited. Not to mention the fact that she felt more than a tad underdressed by her choice of clothes compared to Weiss' own and those who were eating there.

In the end though, she simply shook her head and held her head high as she walked besides Weiss, as if daring those onlookers who were staring at her with their judging eyes to try and break her with their preconceptions about her.

Sitting at a table for two, both girls were looking at the menu, with Weiss carefully reading it over while June's eyes were twitching. 'I can eat a day's worth of breakfast, lunch and dinner with how much they're charging for a full course!' she raged out inside her mind,

"I will have the blablablabla and the blablabla for the yaddayaddayadda and..." June could barely understand the food Weiss was ordering, it sounded like names of places that June has never been to and she just decided to keep silent until the girl finished talking. "What about you?"

With pursed lips and deep breath, June's answer was, "I've never been to this kind of place, so I don't know what's good, so if you don't mind, can you please do it for me instead?" she asked.

June expected the rich girl to sigh at that, though she noticed that it was more out of reluctant acceptance than annoyance. "Very well, for her-" at that point, June had stopped listening and could only hope that it would be good.

After the waiter left, Weiss turned to June almost immediately and said; "I must confess that I was... rather horrible to you." Looking at her expression, June noticed that it must take a lot of effort for her to say something like that. "And I did apologize, but I want to clarify that it wasn't because you turned out to be a senior Huntress, in-training or not."

She was still thinking that she was her senior. Considering the difference between their respective height and build, it wasn't wrong for the girl to think that, but June saw this as an advantage to see what kind of person this Weiss really was so she didn't correct her. "Go on..." she urged her.

"It was because I realized that I should've been better and not judge you based on my preconceptions." She answered, "I assumed that you were a rough, inattentive and clumsy brute, after all, you sent me falling down."

'Not that it was particularly hard.' June thought as she looked at Weiss' figure, 'You look like a fragile doll...' she remarked before her eyes landed on the rapier she was carrying, 'Though that weapon tells another story'.

"But then you handled me with care, you continued to apologize even though I was yelling at you, you were being courteous, and I was not, so for that I apologize." She dipped her head down a bit at that, "Though it took me realizing that you're my senior to do so, which in hindsight made me appear two-faced and sycophantic, I want you to know that I absolutely, completely regretted my action and wanted to apologize with all my heart."

'...Huh. Maybe I judged her too soon.' Was all that June could think of. The girl was honest once faced with something that was proven to be her fault, which she didn't expect. Then again, taking her to this kind of restaurant proved how far she was willing to go to fulfill that apology.

"Miss Schnee," June called her formally, "I accept your apology. Though you didn't give me a very good first impression..." She saw the girl in front of her wincing at that, "You more than made it up now. After this, there's no reason for me to think otherwise."

Weiss sighed in relief at that. "Thank you. And please, you can call me Weiss." She said.

"Then you can call me June, Weiss." She answered, "I'm not that much older than you, you know." Considering that they're likely the same age, it was technically true.

"Very well, June." Weiss said, testing the name and found it to her liking.

"Miss." Intruded the waitress as she brought with her a tray with two glasses, "Here are your drinks." Said glasses were filled with a bubbling and opaquely red liquid that were accompanied with fruits that were sour in taste.

When the waitress left, June looked at the beverage in slight confusion, "Uh... what's the name of this... beverage?"

"It's a Fruit Mix. One of this restaurant's specialty." Weiss said, "It is nutritious as it is sweet with a slight tang, both an appetizer and a beverage, it is one of the healthiest drink anywhere. Try it, June."

She did so, and the moment the liquid entered her mouth and touched her tongue, her eyes widened, "...W-whoa...! I've never tasted something like this before! It's so... tasty!"

Looking at how the blonde girl was taken by her stomach, Weiss gleefully smirked in her mind. 'Yes, please appreciate them, June~! I will make you my friend, even if I have to use quite a bit of _his_ money...' was what she thought.

Not to say that her apology was not genuine or that she did not feel bad about her behavior, as she truly meant what she had said from the bottom of her heart. However, the pragmatic/opportunistic side of her saw this as an opportunity to build a connection to June, an Arc who was also either a veteran Huntress or her senior Huntress in-training.

Connection was still very important for her, and if her desire to apologize happened to coincide with the need to have that, then all the better for it.

However, so caught up Weiss was with her business with June and so caught up June was with the quality of the food they provide that both of them failed to notice the small trickling of people in black between the intervals of two minutes, culminating into a rather sizable group of people seated at the corners of the restaurant when ten minutes has passed.

During that time, both June and Weiss were enjoying the course that was given, which was a full course lunch was set for them, which they happened to thoroughly enjoy.

At the very least they had that for them...

* * *

 _Later on, With Jaune and Amber..._

Walking among the pedestrians in the streets of Vale were Jaune and Amber, the latter of whom was deep in her own thoughts.

" _Please think about it further. Having had it for so long, I completely understand that you want to postpone it for a while."_

The meeting with Penny Polendina was one that was filled with revelations about her and about himself. The strength he possessed, the Mantle that manifested within him, and the fact that he was able to induce this change in others...

And also the fact that he was basically a criminal in the eyes of Atlas military... A criminal whom they do not know the face and the name of. Why was he a criminal? Because of his action, which led to Penny, who was legally their property, rebelling against them and escaping their captivity.

Nobody knew that he was responsible for that however, but if it were known... He'd be a fugitive. 'Still, it wasn't as if I knew that I'd give the girl a soul... Then again... It's not as if I knew that I'd do that to her.'

Apparently, his method of healing other people was so invasive to their souls that it caused them to become like his, transformed, metamorphosed. In some cases, it manifested as a Mantle, which Penny now possessed, a very versatile and not to mention powerful, if rather bizarre Mantle.

" _Through these strings, I am also able to_ see _the nature of things in the form of codes and_ understand _them once I studied them thoroughly_. _And like any codes, I can manipulate them, though it does cost me more time and energy than usual if I'm using any other body than my main one, hence why I created the base."_

Which was interesting, since the implication about what she could do with it was mind-boggling. It was thanks to her Mantle that she discovered how to draw energy straight from the planet's inner heat instead of using Dust, so if used properly, it would be able to usher in a new age for the whole mankind.

However, speaking of how her Mantle manifested had brought out an interesting topic.

" _W-wait a minute. Speaking of which... if that's the way you make Mantle manifest in other people, what about that Mercury guy? Would he end up having that too?"_

" _Likely, but I wouldn't be so sure."_

 _"Why?"_

 _"I've found and observed the girl you healed that night. She is still alive and healthy, and is now living with her father by the way. And despite you having done the same thing you did to me to her, she has yet to acquire a Mantle of her own."  
_

 _"...And what do you think about that?"_

 _"I think that for one to acquire Mantle requires some criteria. Firstly, one must have their Aura unlocked beforehand. Though the girl now has her Aura unlocked, her having a Mantle is still just a possibility instead of a certainty._

 _"Secondly, one needs to be influenced, either internally or externally, to want more than what they have, to have a strong will to advance, to keep on moving, to improve. I'm speaking from my experience, and the girl exhibited none of these traits, at least not yet._

 _"And thirdly, and this one is still just conjecture mind you... one needs to have at least_ some _idea that they have potential. When the scientist told me that it was a miracle that I was still standing, moving and talking despite having no fluids moving inside me, I knew that something about me has been changed. The girl seems to have no idea of what she might be capable of doing, so that door might still be locked for her."_

 _"I see... What's the girl's name, by the way?"_

 _"Hm... I think it was Ella. Ella Freeman."  
_

 _"...Hm...I suppose that means that Mercury won't get any powers anytime soon..."_

 _"Well, just in case, I'll be sure to keep an eye on him as well."_

" _You've hacked yourself into Beacon too?"_

" _Well, their cyber-security measures_ are _a bit outdated from my point of view."_

Right now, said gynoid -the body she used to meet with him and Amber anyway- was going back to a spot she reserved outside Vale's boundaries before she had to leave. The original body looked so much like the one she had during her time as SDC's property, so if it were seen by Atlas in any way, they would immediately send agents to Vale to try and find her. Though it might seem rather paranoid of her, both he and Amber agreed to let it be and to not take any chances.

After he let out a small breath from his nose, he turned to Amber at his side and asked, "Do you want to get some lunch?"

"Huh? Oh, lunch, um... Sure, why not?" she asked rhetorically with a slightly shaky smile on her face. It was clear that she was thinking quite hard about the whole idea of removing her Maiden powers.

Their feet brought them to a nearby restaurant in the shopping district, one that sells food of Eastern Mistral origin complete with its influence on its architecture, dominated by wooden wall and furniture which gave it a homey feeling.

After ordering their food, which was thick noodles in stock soup with bits of pork and vegetables, the two began to talk. "Why are you hesitating to accept Penny's offer?" he asked her.

She was silent for a couple of seconds before she sighed and answered, "...Well, as much trouble as this power of mine has brought me, it is still something I inherited in the first place." she then scoffed and said; "I know I joked a lot about wanting what you have, and to a degree, I prefer having a Mantle, but... To let this go is something that I really need to think about for some time."

"I see." He could understand her hesitance. It wasn't just about the power itself, but what it carried, the meaning it had in her life and what would be lost if she were to just give it away, even if it would end up in Penny's hands.

" _One of the reasons why I was created was for the purpose of having an artificial Maiden after all."_

Apparently, a Maiden's power is incompatible with Mantle, but due to Penny's nature, creating a body compatible for pooling the Maiden's power within was child's play and would allow her to be wielder of both.

When asked as to _why_ she offered it, all she said was so that the power could be used in a more effective way by converting it into a more accessible form of energy. They had noticed that she only gave the answer as a one of the possible uses for it, so they asked her what she _really_ wanted to do with it, and she just said...

" _I want to dissect it, examine it and know what makes it tick. It is_ magic _, archaic and unreliable but magic nonetheless, and I want to know how it works to improve it. The wizard in the story might as well have given the Maidens an equivalent of WMD, and the way it can be transferred is_ very in _effective and_ in _consistent and to be honest...? It_ irks _me something_ fierce _."_

From her rant, Amber had likened her to the unstable robots from the sci-fi horror movies she once watched and had clung to Jaune in terror. Despite that though, Jaune saw it as the girl being honest, overly so, but just honest.

"Still, if I were to be given a Mantle, what do you think it'd be?" she asked, trying to lighten off a bit by approaching the topic from the other side of the coin. "Come to think of it, you told me that you thought that your Mantle manifested as the cape because of your heroic tendencies, so... could it be based on a person's personality?" she wondered.

"Perhaps." Jaune conceded, "Though I had a thought about how it might be related to one's Semblance. For example if I affect a person whose Semblance has already been manifested with my Aura, would it then create a Mantle based on their Semblance?"

"Ooooh, that's interesting~" Amber said, now invested in the topic, "So let's say you... Affect Ms. Glynda with your Aura, what would it do to her telekinesis?" she asked him.

"On the top of my head..." he mulled over it a bit before continuing, "Because her Semblance is basically her extending her Aura to 'touch' something and handling it with her mind, I think it would morph into a Mantle that-"

The sounds of police siren passing by their restaurant cut him off a bit as he and Amber turned to look at the police cars that zoomed by so quickly. "...Anyway, as I was saying, I think her Mantle would be-"

* * *

 _Some time before, with Weiss and June..._

"Aaaaaah~!" June sighed out in sheer satisfaction, "That was incredible~! You really know your stuff, Weiss!"

"If by stuff you mean excellent cuisine, then I suppose I _do_ know it." Weiss replied oh so elegantly as she used one of the tissues to wipe her mouth from any stain. When she removed it, a small smile was on her face as she said; "I'm glad that you found it satisfying."

"Yeah, that was... one of the best meals I've had in a long while." June said as she wiped the stains on the edges of her mouth with the back of her hand before using the tissue to wipe it. "Still though, you're really thorough in trying to get me to accept your apology. If you'd taken me to a cheaper restaurant, I would've accepted that too."

"Oh, think nothing of it. I spare no expense when I need to prove that I'm better than I seem to be." She waved it off while inside she was thinking, 'Hm... maybe I had gone overboard with the whole thing...?'

"Yeah, but... with all that you gave me, I'm starting to think that there's something more from this besides me accepting your apology..." she trailed off as she playfully narrowed her eyes at the girl who flinched at her statement, "There _can't_ be though, right?" she asked teasingly.

Weiss suddenly found her throat to be a bit parched so she drank the water on her glass. This action had nothing to do with the fact that she was a bit surprised by how right June's assumption was of course, that would be ridiculous.

"That aside..." June muttered, and to Weiss' surprise, she saw the blonde-haired girl's expression turned serious as she looked around with her head still. "Don't be obvious now, but look around... Something's not right."

Her blue eyes looked at her surroundings, at first thinking that June was being playful, but when she saw how a lot of the customers were looking away from her when they were caught looking, she immediately realized something was not right indeed.

"...Are we being surrounded?" Weiss whispered to June.

"Most likely, yeah. I don't know what they possibly want other than kidnapping though." She answered.

"Wait, what?"

"I mean think about it, their tactic revolves in surrounding someone, which is either you or me, and they did it so methodically that I think they've been planning this for quite a while." June answered. "Hey, are you from some rich family?"

"...Something like that." Weiss answered. She found June's apparent lack of knowledge about the Schnee family and the SDC both annoying and endearing. Though she had pride in her family name, not being known was such a... novel experience for her that she wanted it to continue for a while longer. "Hm, it might be why they're doing it."

"Yeah... Alright, act normal but keep an eye on those behind me while I watch those behind you, okay?" she said.

"Hm." Weiss answered before she turned to the nearby waitress, "Waitress, I'd like to ask for the bill please."

With a nod, the waitress left, and both Weiss and June began the tense waiting game. "So Weiss, why don't you tell me about your family? Who are the Schnees?"

Seeing that she needed to play along, Weiss answered, "Well, the Schnee is the family who owns _the_ largest Dust manufacturers in all of Remnant."

"Ah, so I was right about your family being rich." She remarked.

"Indeed, we have... made ourselves quite a bit of fortune, to say the very least." Weiss replied, understating her family's massive amount of fortune. "My family's corporation is SDC, or Schnee Dust Company, it is centered in Atlas but we trade with the neighboring countries as well."

"I see, I see. Still, why are you applying for Beacon? With your connection, you could've-" she stopped at that before she looked at Weiss intently, "...Could it be that you want to make it on your own? Outside of your family's influence?"

'...Hm, despite her lack of knowledge, she has a sharp mind.' Thought Weiss in approval before she nodded, "Your deduction is spot-on, June. Yes, while it would be easy for me to enroll into Atlas Academy by having my father recommend me, I want to test myself."

"Hm... That's quite a noble resolve you have." June remarked, "So you want to prove to yourself that even without your family's influence, you are able to thrive."

"Indeed. To have riches given to me is... a benefit and all, but I want to be able to stand on my own two feet. Doing this is a way to prove that I can do it, so here I am in Vale instead of Atlas." She answered.

"Hm... That is very-"

Before Weiss could even do anything, June put her hand over her eyes and ears, the former of which covered with her thumbs while the latter were covered by her palms. Through her muffled hearing, she heard the sound of a small explosion, "What is it?! Are they attacking?!"

A second later, June removed her hands and what Weiss first saw was that they were covered inside a shimmering bubble colored in blue. "W-wha..." Outside of the bubble, some of the suspicious people in black were groaning as they covered their ears while those who were behind June were shocked still. All of them were now standing up, indicating that their plan was underway and before long, they brought out their concealed, non-hybrid weapon; handguns, which they began to shoot at the bubble as the civilians around them ducked and screamed in panic. "I-is this your Semblance?"

"Force field. Pretty cool huh?" answered June, whose back was connected to the bubble by a funnel-shaped force field. "Alright, now." She said as she grabbed Weiss and swept her off her feet and held by her arms, making her squeak as she did so without a pause or a grunt, as if she was so light, "Hold on tight, Weiss."

The sudden contact surprised Weiss, but nevertheless, she managed to let out a "O-Okay!", and prompted June to enact the next part of her plan...

Which was to bulldoze her way out. The sound of bullets deflected by her force field echoed in Weiss' ears as she went past everybody else towards the door, which she barged through with her force field bubble.

"Alright, we're out! Weiss, use your Scroll and call the cops!"

"On it!" Weiss said as she quickly took out her scroll and did as was told. "Hello, yes, my name is Weiss Schnee, there is a shootout at the four-star restaurant 'Cliff's', in the shopping district, please send a convoy, there are at least ten shooters if not more."

Not wanting to waste time in waiting for a response, Weiss called it off and turned to June with a smile full of gratitude, "Thank you for helping me get out."

"Eh, it wasn't a problem Weiss." Answered June with a shrug, "Though they are still quite persistent..." she said as she gestured to the people in black who were now turning their attention to the two of them.

Before they could do anything however, they heard the sound of an engine roaring from their right. They turned to see a van coming towards them without any signs of stopping.

June, assisted with her force field, immediately jumped high with Weiss in her arms, allowing the van to pass under them and sending it crashing to a nearby tree. After landing with both of her feet, June put Weiss down and told her, "Alright, Weiss, use that rapier of yours, cause' I'm going to drop this bubble in a couple of seconds."

"Alright!" Weiss exclaimed as she held her rapier in her hand. Above the grip she held, the revolver rotated until it stopped, signalling that it was ready to be used. "I'm ready."

"Remember though, they are still people. Attack to incapacitate or debilitate." June said.

"Don't worry, I have no intention to kill them in the first place." Weiss answered, "I don't want to start my days in Beacon being looked at like a murderer after all."

"That... sounds like a very skewed priority there, but okay." June remarked before she held her sword without unsheathing it. When she saw Weiss raising her eyebrows, June answered, "The sheath is dull, but harder than steel. Blunt trauma is less likely to kill if used at non-vital spots, but will still hurt like a bitch."

"Hm." For once, the usage of the rather vulgar word brought a smile to Weiss' face. "I like you, June."

"The feeling's mutual, Weiss." June answered before the people in black came out of the door and through the windows and at the same time, the bubble disappeared.

"Let's go!" June and Weiss said at the same time as they charged at the attackers...

Not long after, they found themselves standing over the groaning form of the people who tried to kidnap Weiss. "So d'you think that that van over there is to get you..." June said as she pointed her sheathed sword at the crashed van, "And then they'll use other cars to try and divert the cops in case they're chased at?"

"Possibly." Weiss said with a nod, "After all, they were going after me, so they should be as prepared as they can possibly be." She didn't want to brag, but she _was_ the heiress to the Schnee fortune. If they wanted to do something so audacious as to kidnap her, they better not half-ass it.

"Wow, talk about a high regard for oneself." Teased June. "Careful though, it's not healthy in large dosage." She reminded her.

"Yes yes, I know." Weiss handwaved it off, but her smiling face and her lack of annoyance or hostility in her tone of voice told her that she took it well and considered it as a good-natured teasing, "I'm not _that_ self-centered, you know."

"You are, a little bit." June said, "Enough for someone to notice at a glance and call it out."

"Well, I wouldn't deny that I suppose." Weiss was not really the humblest person, she herself would freely admit it, and she would accept such an assessment of her personality from someone she respected. "And _you_ are a rather uncouth individual at times."

"Ooh! You wound me." June said sarcastically as she nursed an imaginary wound at her left breast, which caused Weiss to stare and purse her lips for a second, which June caught but chose not to comment, "But was I not graceful under pressure there with those people?" she gestured at the people in black lying on the floor.

"True, but your table mannerism at the restaurant leaves much to be desired." Weiss said, to which June shrugged, and Weiss couldn't help but to smile. It was rare in itself to have someone she could speak to without having to constantly check her manners. "Ah, it looks like the police are here."

Indeed, the sound of police sirens were blaring as their cars arrived at the scene. "Alright, so which one of us should talk to the fuzz?" June asked.

"...'Fuzz'? How _old_ are you?" Weiss teased back, "Anyway, I will do the talking. This all started because of me anyway. Unless of course you want to do it?" she asked.

"...Nah, if you think you can do it, do it. I've dealt with enough authority figures for one day." June answered, referring to her being questioned by the cops at the station, "If you got this handled, then I think I'll be going now, okay? See you at Beacon when the term starts, Weiss."

With that, the blonde left, leaving the white-haired girl to take a deep breath. 'Be calm Weiss. You can do this.' She reminded herself before she called out to June, "Thank you for your help, June!" she called, and the blonde woman responded with a lazy wave without even turning back, "Hmph, trying to act cool, huh?" she rhetorically questioned with a knowing smile before she shrugged, 'Well... it worked. Thank you, June. I hope we meet again at Beacon.'

Her parting statement meant that June was likely to be a Huntress-in-training at least at her second year. The way she fought showed her experience and sheer talent in combination of having what is known as a Killer Semblance. 'A pity though. I was hoping that we could be partners.'

Indeed, it would've been quite swell if June happened to be a first-year as she herself was. She was dependable, capable of leading _and_ delegating leadership. She would've been a _great_ teammate.

* * *

 _Later on, with Jaune and Amber..._

"So my sister got accepted without a test... because she was involved in a fight with the White Fang and showed her Semblance to you and Ozpin?" he asked Glynda, whom he and Amber met after they arrived back at Beacon. "Does he always do things like this? Other than the test, isn't there a need for a formal recommendation for someone to be enrolled?"

"Trust me, the man just does what he wants most of the time." Glynda answered flatly after a big sigh as she, along with Jaune and Amber, were walking the empty halls of Beacon, "Fortunately, in those times, what he wants align with what is needed, and enrolling June this way, while not explicitly allowed in the rules, falls under... 'unorthodox cases of enrollment'."

"...Wow, Vale _really_ does things differently." Amber remarked, having known about the Hunter Academies in Remnant and their different behaviors towards the way they educate allowed her to make such a statement.

"Not Vale, just... Ozpin." Glynda said back before she amended it by adding, "Still, your sister _is_ a capable fighter. If she were to be tested, I'm sure she would've been accepted nonetheless."

"Is that so? Good." Jaune nodded with a small smile on his face, "That means she never lets up her training. Not that my mother and father would let her anyway. Once you're being trained, you either do it well or not at all." He revealed.

"Your sister implied as much." Glynda said, "Both Arthur and Jeanne are known amongst the Hunting community as powerful Hunter and Huntress on their own. When there were news that they got together, everyone wondered what their team-up was like only for their presence to... recede after a while. But it seems that they've never let themselves go."

"Oh no. They might have left the professional Hunting community altogether, but they're still more than capable." Jaune answered, "Still, they left that life for a reason, which was to have me and my sisters."

"...To have a family." Amber spoke with a smile.

"An understandable cause to take, certainly, considering what we do." Glynda nodded in approval, "Still, having them left the job was a shame... No offense meant, Jaune." She quickly added, not wanting him to think that it was a shame that they chose to build a family instead.

"None taken."

"Thank you." Glynda said in slight relief before she asked, "So, how did your business with the temporary leave go?"

"It went..." he looked at Amber, whose brown eyes stared back at his blue ones before both of them faced Glynda again, "...Pretty well, given the circumstances. Although, that reminds me, we want to talk with Ozpin about something really important."

"Again?" Glynda asked, "After what occurred with Raven Branwen, what other... revelation, do you have for us?" she asked with a small amount of exasperation in her voice.

Hearing that the Grimm presence, which had been diminished thanks to his actions, was actually because the ones left were actually in hiding, was... disconcerting. Underground and below the sea, away from prying eyes, they were biding their time due to them fearing Jaune. "Hopefully, the scale of this... revelation isn't as big as the one before?" asked Glynda with hope.

"...Depends on your view on certain things." Jaune replied cryptically.

"Yeah, it's... it's one hell of a revelation." Amber had to say.

* * *

 _Later..._

"This... this is..." Seeing Ozpin reacted with sheer speechlessness was a first for Glynda. The man had seen many things and experienced a lot of hardships to almost never be shocked into silence, but Jaune managed to do it. Of course, he had been rather modest with describing how big this revelation actually was.

The idea that he had somehow managed to humanize an Aura robot and also gave it... _her,_ a Mantle was a revelation that was earth-shattering. It challenged the view of Aura and Semblance being the be-all end-all to how a soul can materialize to the world and proved their assumption about what a Mantle _really_ was, which was the true materialization of the soul and all it implied.

This was big, there was no denying that. Could this mean that he was capable of giving everyone a Mantle? Through a very invasive procedure, his Aura would change others' to the point of enabling a Mantle to manifest. 'It could very well mean a great change in the power balance between the kingdoms if any of the manifested Mantle were to be as powerful as Jaune's or as the gynoid's...'

Nothing would be the same with what was revealed. Previously, both Ozpin and Glynda expected the possibility that the Grimm were actually hiding and was waiting for the inevitable break-out whenever it occurred, but this... This was something that came out of nowhere.

"I... I believe this is the first time in... so many years that I've been at a loss for words." Said Ozpin as he interlocked his fingers together with his elbows propped on the desk. "Come to think of it, I do remember from my sources of information that the Atlas military had tried their best to cover up something big a year ago... So that was _you_. Only that your involvement is an unknown to them."

"Pretty much." Jaune confirmed.

"And to imagine that they've been trying to create an artificial receptacle for a Maiden's power...!" once again, Glynda was stunned as she saw Ozpin reacting in sheer, furious anger by squeezing his hands tightly into fists and scowling, "What else could they have hidden...?" he muttered in a grave tone of voice.

"It's _Atlas_." Amber stated flatly, "Their military has an almost absolute control over the country, and they're closely connected with one of the richest corporations in Remnant. If they're not hiding anything behind closed doors, then I'm not the Fall Maiden." She remarked.

"That aside," Jaune interrupted, "now that I've revealed this to you... Would you like to mull over it a bit more?" he asked.

Ozpin responded him with a look and a long silence before he said, "...Is there something you wish to recommend, Jaune?" Ozpin asked, catching the implication that there was something Jaune was getting at with the question.

"I want to test my ability to Affect people." Jaune answered without missing a beat, catching them off-guard, "Back during my fight with Raven, she told me to gather people and resources." Ozpin's eyes widened, and seeing this, Jaune continued, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Ozpin?"

"...A small force consisting of people who possess Mantle..." Ozpin muttered, mulling over the existence of such a group. "Indeed, it would be a great asset..." however, he then cast Jaune with a frown, "But to who?" he asked pointedly.

"To those who want to fight the Grimm." Jaune answered quickly before he looked at Ozpin with a scowl, "I want to gather people for a _cause_ , not for the sake of building a powerbase, Ozpin." He acknowledged the question as a loaded one and did not appreciate it.

"In any group with a leader, the collective will have to be loyal to them. Considering that you're already saying that you're going to lead this group of people with powers that have the potential to make Semblance look like toys to weapons of mass destruction such as your Mantle, forgive me for being rather wary." Ozpin said.

"Are you saying that I'm a threat to the kingdoms?" Jaune asked back.

"There is a possibility of that, especially someone as powerful as you. And consider this: Many other people in position of power are much more paranoid than I am when it comes to something that could _possibly_ threaten the political balance of the four Kingdoms." Ozpin also bared the truth to Jaune, "And a group of people with immense destructive potential _per individual_ can be a cause for a massive shakedown."

"What about the balance in the conflict between us and the Grimm?" Jaune went for the jugular, "In the face of the Grimm waiting it out, as if _preparing_ for war, what does political balance worth against that?" he asked, "If I might seem pushy about this matter then forgive me, because I _created_ this situation in the first place and I am trying to find a _solution_ , because Raven is right. I'm just one man. Though Penny has my back, I still need more insurance, and this is the fastest way to do it. The Grimm may not wait for long."

Though Ozpin tried to be the realist in the argument, what Jaune said struck him to the core. What did petty political troubles caused by a massive change in status quo _really_ meant against the very real threat to their very existence? The threat that was not gone, but simply retreating to come back even stronger when the time was right.

And he recognized how Jaune was trying to be responsible, trying to find a way, a solution, to this problem that he had inadvertently created. Such sense of responsibility was something that he could respect, and respect it he did. With all that in mind, Ozpin realized then that he had lost the altercation, and sighed.

Glynda was inwardly shocked by how... tired Ozpin looked. Even as he smiled at Jaune, he looked as if some sort of mental dam had been burst and showing the man who had been fighting many battles for so long.

It was a sight to see, and what he said next was even more eventful, "...Do you have something in mind?" Ozpin, delegating the planning of some course of action to someone else? For Glynda, it's as if the world was really ending right then and there, and if she were to wish for something, she would get it on the spot no matter how impossible it might be.

"A candidate of people you absolutely trust who'd benefit from having a Mantle, but preferably those who were not in position of power in any way." Jaune answered, "Then a list of the students you have and will have in this school-"

"Wait a minute, you're going to involve our students?!" Glynda interrupted, "What could you possibly be thinking? You would let children fight a war like this?!" she questioned him with a lot of anger behind it.

"Those who passed lower-tier combat schools before entering Beacon shows that they _really_ want to become Huntsmen." Jaune stated, "Whoever they are, whatever their reasons to getting enrolled here, they are expected to fight for the existence of the living and to work at a job where it is _expected_ of them to die on the field on one bad day after they graduate. Adding a Mantle would give them an edge... but not without the responsibility that comes with it."

...Indeed, those were the facts. The cold, hard facts, the reality of what it meant to be a Huntsman, even while in training, which was made clear once one saw through the fame, the glory and anything else plastered on top of the original reason for the occupation's inception: To fight the Grimm to the bitter end, all to preserve humanity and the faunus-kind.

Glynda cast her head down, bit her tongue, and her pursed lips were shaking. She was trying to find something to retort Jaune's statement, but found nothing. She didn't like the cold reality of being a Huntsman, she had learned to accept it, but having it brought it out into the open always made her heart ache.

"I'm sorry, Glynda. I truly am, but there is a need for this force." He said before he continued, "Which is why I want you in." Glynda looked up, her green eyes widened as Jaune continued, "Not just as a supervisor, but as a member. The first person I will Affect, with me knowing beforehand what it does, is you... If you choose to accept to be... a Mantle-user."

* * *

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **So how would Glynda's Semblance change when it's turned into a Mantle? I'll let you ruminate that one as you wait for the next chapter.**


	8. Harsh Awakening

**Foreword: This is about Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, one of the inspiration for this story. This chapter's going to have a bit of something that the series is known for besides Stands, which was especially prominent during Part 1 and 2, with Vampires and Pillar Men. This chapter's one of the main reasons why I chose to rate this story as M. You've been warned.**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own RWBY

* * *

Having experience in teaching did not prepare either Arthur nor Jeanne for how _fast_ Jaune absorbed the lessons given to him. It was not just a matter of talent, it wasn't just because Jaune was actually _really_ good at learning, but it's also the matter of hard work.

The sheer drive that their son had was the source of their exasperation and a major concern for them. It was not normal, by children's standards _or_ by adults' standards, the amount of effort Jaune put into his training was unreal and so was his rate of improvement, which was simply _staggering_.

Not to mention the fact that he was becoming stronger physically... In a way that no normal child should. Aura could give one increased strength and durability, but the way Jaune could exert a great amount of strength without it was simply abnormal.

"What is he turning into, Arthur?" asked Jeanne as she sat beside him at the dining table, alone in the dark of dusk, "He's developing into... I don't know _what_ exactly, but he's not what I would call a _normal_ ten year-old."

"A normal ten year-old kid wouldn't have strength of at least ten adult men, I agree." Arthur said tiredly as he sipped the black tea inside a ceramic mug, "Not to mention how _fast_ he's growing in height... Still, let's... not quickly assume that this is bad. Despite how distant and reserved he became compared to how he was, Jaune is, for the most part, still Jaune. Except he's become more driven."

"I know, but that's why I'm worried, Arthur." She sighed as she said; "You know how I used to be back then... Too... narrow-sighted, too much conviction, I was blinded by my own faith. I see that in Jaune, the drive, the sense of chasing a purpose, and it terrifies me."

"...He isn't as bad as you were though." Arthur said.

Normally, such a statement from one's husband would earn him his wife's ire, but this time, Jeanne simply said; "And thank goodness for that. When he first bled himself trying to improve, to 'not be powerless' as he said, I thought I was seeing history repeating itself. Thankfully he's not as bad as I was, but even so, it still worries me."

Her lips quivered as she continued, "Because as better as his control over his drive was, I'm scared that he'd end up seeing us as obstacles to his goal." She began to tear up as she cast her head down.

"Jeanne..." Arthur quickly reached out and squeezed her hand, "He's not as bad as you were, remember?"

"Yet he's repeating my history almost step-by-step!" Jeanne exclaimed as tears freely fell from her eyes to her cheeks and finally dripping down from her chin, "What if he left us to chase this goal that he wants to reach? There seems to be no end in his pursuit to improve himself, what if he ended up leaving and, and-?"

"Jeanne, he won't do what you did, and we won't end up like your parents either." Arthur tried to calm her down. "Unlike them, we can take care of ourselves. We used to be Huntsmen, remember? And we never lost our edge, so we won't be helpless."

His attempt to console her worked, but only for a bit, as it was not what she was worried about, "It's not that, Arthur. I saw my parents as an obstacle... I was _not_ a good person back then... I'm just scared at the idea that he's the same way."

In the darkened hallway, right beside the archway that would lead to the dining room of the house, the ten year-old Jaune Arc cast his head down as his arms were crossed. His eyes had a haunted look to them as if he was silently acknowledging what his mother feared.

It wasn't. He didn't consider his parents to be obstacles, in fact, he thought highly of them, not just because of their skills and their willingness to teach what they knew to him, but also because they were good people with 'golden spirits' in them... Now though, after knowing that his mother had a dark history and feared him retreading the same path that she once took, he felt guilty.

He might not see his parents as obstacles... But he did have an intention to leave them behind someday, perhaps sooner than they thought. His drive was like an addiction, he sought for its fulfillment, to feed and cultivate it to be of use now that he had skills and power. Cultivating them in the safety of his home, protected by his parents, won't allow him to achieve what he wanted. To be of use, to be of help to others.

He _will_ leave them sooner than later... And knowing that they expected it was both saddening and gladdening at the same time. It showed how they viewed him as, as a troubled child of theirs whom they loved dearly with all their heart, but couldn't help to be worried about and it showed that when he _did_ leave, it won't be as harsh to them as he thought it would.

Though his throat was dry, Jaune decided to leave the premises and went back to his room which he shared with his younger sister June, who mumbled in her sleep, "Mm~ I'm finally as strong as you~"

With a small smile on his face, he gently kissed her cheek, prompting the girl to smile, as if her dream was improved in its quality at his action.

He went to his bed, lied down on his back with his head on a pillow and his arms crossed before he said softly so as to not wake her up, "Good night, June."

So Jaune Arc slept.

* * *

 **Harsh Awakening  
**

* * *

Her sister got accepted at Beacon. Which was a good news, one that Ruby was both really excited and also jealous by, considering that her sister was going to _the_ Beacon like she herself wanted to do once she was old enough to.

However, out of all her family members, there was one who wasn't as thrilled, excited or just simply happy with the whole thing as she or her Uncle Qrow was, the family member who was supposed to be the one who's most thrilled at this news, considering how closely related he was to them.

But both Ruby and her sister understood why their dad wasn't as excited they were. After all, he lost his wives to the job, literally and figuratively. He was afraid that Yang would be hurt, not just physically, but emotionally, mentally.

So it left only Ruby to plan the whole 'congratulations!' party that she wanted to do for her. Sure, Yang had some of her friends from Signal doing that for her, but Ruby wanted to do something about it too. She's her sister after all, and what she managed to accomplish was big, there was no way that there won't be a celebration.

Right now, the girl dressed in her favorite black and red ensemble who was carrying a large sychte on her back was in Vale's commercial/shopping district, all alone as the dim light of the sun in the late afternoon was slowly turning into the darkness of the night. "Hm... I think I should buy her something for Ember Celica..." all that she could think about was to improve her sister's personal weapon, which she knew as a pair of slightly modified version of a standard Armed Gauntlets. "Maybe a cake? A... cookie cake? Ooh, I wonder if that actually exists!"

Yang deserved some party for what she achieved, but nevertheless, she wanted it to cater to her a bit. "Hm... let's see if there's such a thing as a cookie cake." She muttered as she looked around the restaurants, bakery and other food stuff section of the district.

In the middle of looking around, she saw someone whom she recognized from a bizarre meeting with Yang that ended up with her sister going someplace where she learned about her mother.

Ruby remembered how she came back home looking as if she had been satisfied with something, though not in a happy, ecstatic way, but it was as if she had discovered an answer to a question that she had been asking for a long time, it wasn't what she liked, but it was enough.

With a small determined smile she approached the man as she tried to remember his name. 'Uh... Ms. Glynda Goodwitch's friend... Shoot, I forgot his name!' considering that they only interacted for a couple of seconds, it shouldn't be a surprise, but right now, as she wanted to greet him and talk to him, knowing his name was important.

Nevertheless, she didn't stop and soon enough, she was right beside him. The blonde man wearing an untucked, long-sleeved dress shirt colored in black, a pair of white pants and a pair of black shoes had to look down to be able to meet her eyes, and Ruby gulped as he dwarfed her in sheer height, successfully intimidating her. "Hehe... uh, hi..."

"Oh. You're Yang's sister, Ruby Rose, right?" the man asked with a raised eyebrow, "Hello to you too, what brings you here?" he asked.

"Oh, well, you know, food and stuff..." Ruby answered, trying to wrack her brain for the man's name, she knew it's in there somewhere! After a moment, she remembered the questions she asked her sister when she had come back home from the trip.

" _S-so... how did it go, sis?"_

" _Well... I knew from the start that I won't feel fulfilled with the result, no matter what, but... overall, it was alright. Learned a lot about my mom, which was good... Not good things though, turns out, she's a major jerkass."_

" _U-Uh..."_

" _Nah it's alright Rubes, I had expected her to be one in the first place. What kind of woman abandoned her husband and her year-old child without even explaining why anyway?_

" _S-still..."_

" _Don't worry too much about it, it's... a closure. Not a fulfilling one, but... I'm satisfied with it for now."_

" _I see... So this... Jaune guy, what was he like?"_

" _...Eh~? Is that interest I hear? Is my little sister interested in a guy?"_

" _W-what? N-no! I'm just curious, I only met him for a while before I went to Ms. Goodwitch. And then you kind of derailed everything before I could even talk to him."_

" _Is that iiiit~? Hmmmm~?"_

" _It IIIIS~! And besides, he's too old for me anyway."_

" _...How old do you think he is, Rubes?"_

" _Well, from how he looks like... above twenty-five at least."_

" _He's only three years older than you, Rubes."_

" _...E... Eeeeeeh?! He's eighteen?! But he's huge! And tall! And so... adult!"_

" _Yeah, kinda surprised me too, but I asked him to show an ID when we were walking back to the city just to be sure, and uh... can't argue with the official records."_

" _A-and he's also Ms. Goodwitch's colleague?! T-then that means he's a professor at Beacon too?!"_

" _...Oh yeah, forgot about that part. ...Professor Arc, huh? I like the sound of that."_

" _Wait a... Yaaaang, I know that look."_

" _What look?"_

" _The kind of look you get when you're interested in a boy."_

" _I don't know what you're talking about, Rubes."_

" _Yes you do! You're interested in him!"_

" _Hey, I can neither confirm nor deny your baseless accusation, okay?"_

" _Baseless?! You're grinning, that's enough evidence for me! Yang he's a professor!"_

" _An eighteen year-old professor. He's not that much older than us that it's socially frowned upon to date him, Rubes."_

" _But-!"_

" _A year gap isn't a hindrance. Three years of age gap though, now_ that's _a hindrance."_

" _W-wait, why are you making it about me?"_

" _Hm? Aren't you interested in him too?"_

" _No I'm not!"_

" _You're blushing, that's enough evidence for me."_

" _Yang...! I-I'm not going to continue this..."_

" _You know, you_ were _held in his arms before when you bumped into him. Meet cute, much? More like Meet Ruby, am I right?"_

" _I-I'm leaving the room!"_

" _..."_

" _And it was just one of his arms, not both!"_

Right. Jaune Arc, that was his name. "Ruby?" she heard him calling out her name, which broke her out of her reverie with a slight, 'Huh?' from her and he continued with; "You were spacing out there for a second, is everything alright?" he asked.

Daydreaming again... In front of a professor from Beacon too! What a way to make a good first and second impression in front of the guy who worked in the academy she dreamed of going to someday... "S-sorry, I was just... t-trying to remember your name. J-Jaune Arc, right?"

"I see." To her relief, he didn't look offended, which was good, "Well, we haven't been properly introduced either, I understand. And to answer your question before, I was looking for a good place to take someone to a nice dinner with."

"I-I see..." she trailed off into a rather long silence, 'Damn it, talk to him about it, don't make this awkward!' she berated herself before she cleared her throat and asked, "W-who's the woman... or man... that you want to take to dinner?"

"Glynda." He answered. "She said that she really likes cuisine from the central region of Mistral, but there are a number of them and I don't know which one's good."

"...Ms. Goodwitch?" Ruby asked, to which he nodded, "You two are dating?" she asked, surprised by how close the two professors were and was beginning to wonder if she should break the news to Yang.

"No, not dating," he shook his head, debunking Ruby's assumption and explained what it was for; "It's more of a compensation than a date."

"Oh... D-did you do something bad to her?" she asked before she winced. Was she being too nosy? He wasn't even a friend of hers, why did she ask such a personal question?

Luckily, it seemed that Jaune was someone who didn't mind it as he answered, "Not bad per se, but I did cause her a bit of pain."

"Eh? Pain?"

"It was a necessary thing." As if that fully explained it, "We were experimenting with something new and it caused her a bit of agony but it was a success on both sides, we're both satisfied with the result but I want to make things up with her."

Now let it be said that despite how adamant Yang was in preserving Ruby's 'innocence', she had been exposed to sex ed in her previous school before Signal. And she _might've_ been a little _too_ curious about the subject and ended up getting herself exposed to things that not only showed her _how_ sex works, but _why_ people do it other than to make babies.

If Yang knew about how much she actually knew about the... 'forbidden subject', she would no doubt flip out. Therefore, Jaune's wording spurred her imagination wild and set her cheeks ablaze with intensely red blush, "I-I'm not sure if you should t-talk about it in public like that..." she fidgeted as she played with her fingers and looking to back and forth from left to right, as if afraid of meeting his eyes, "W-what you do in t-the bedroom is between you two, a-and it's no bu-business of mine, s-so-"

"Wait wait. Seems you got it wrong, maybe I used the wrong words to explain it." Jaune stopped her, "The experiment we did was not sexual in nature, it's more scientific."

"...Oh." it took a while before it dawned on her, "O~oooh!" her blush was gone then... only to came back stronger as she cast her head down, realizing that she had assumed wrongly, and it was even more embarrassing for her than before, "S-sorry..."

"It's alright, I should've been less ambiguous about it." Jaune waved it off calmly, which in turn, calmed Ruby as a result, "So that's why I'm here, to pay Glynda back a bit with a favor. What are _you_ doing here?"

"Oh I'm just... looking for... is there such a thing as a cookie cake?" she asked him.

"...I don't know. Is it a cake made out of cookie dough or a cookie made like a mini-cake?" he asked.

"Well, I'm thinking more of a cookie the size of a cake." Ruby said before she seemed to be lost in her thoughts, what with her smile and a little bit of drool that came out, "Ah~ just thinking about it makes me want it even more..."

"Well sadly, I don't know much about that. Tell you what though, want to look for it together? You know this area better than I do, so I'd like your help in finding a good restaurant that serves Middle Mistralian food and I'll treat you with some of those cookie cakes if you happen to find it."

"Hm... Okay!" any opportunities to get free cookies was good for her. Not to mention making a new friend, even if he happened to be a Professor, was always good too! "Alright, food from Middle Mistralian huh...? So it's like... Pasta and stuff like that?"

"Yeah."

Ruby smiled then, as she knew she was able to be of help, "I know just the place!" she exclaimed before she hastily added, "But can we try and find cookie cake first?"

"Of course." Jaune readily nodded.

"Yes! Thank you Mr. Arc."

"Just call me Jaune. You're not a student of Beacon after all and I'm not that much older than you." He told her as he began to walk with Ruby following him on his right side.

"Ah yeah, you're actually eighteen." She stated with a smile after being reminded. She then proceeded to look at him from head to toe, prompting her smile to turn to a pout, "...How did you get so big?" she asked.

"Genetics and physical training I guess, like with everyone else." He answered.

"How tall were you when you were fifteen?" Ruby had to ask.

"Uh..." he had to think about it first, "Six feet. At that point, I think my growth kind of slowed down a bit. I'm now more or less 6 feet and 5 inches, but I'm still at the growing age, so..." He trailed off.

She was fifteen years-old and she stood at 5 feet and 2 inches tall... Shorter than even some people younger than her, "...if it's about physical training, then why am I not getting taller...?' she wondered to herself, mumbling the words almost inaudibly.

So of course he ended up hearing it anyway, "I shouldn't be giving this advice considering how much I pushed myself when I was your age, but if you want to grow taller, don't exert your muscles too much when you're still growing. There's a high possibility that muscle exertion, while good for your muscle growth, will hinder your skeletal growth."

Hearing the advice made Ruby's eyes widen in surprise, "...Hm..." Ruby put her right hand on her chin as she mulled it over, "So you're saying I should train less?" she asked.

"You can still train, just don't overwork your muscles and bones, eat healthy food and then leave it to your genetics. Depending on your luck, you either inherited tall genes or short ones, the more tall family members you have, the better your chances are at getting taller." Jaune advised, "Even before I was your age, I overworked myself to the bone, but my genetics prevented me from not getting tall."

"Lucky..." Ruby muttered, "It's just... there are people who think I'm _twelve_." She stated flatly, "I'm fifteen, a huntress-in-training with a badass scythe-sniper, but my height makes me look like a kid." Her lower lip curled up into a childish pout as she crossed her arms. "It's not fun being short..."

"Sycthe-sniper you say?" he asked as he looked at the weapon she had on her back.

Her eyes seemed to sparkle at his question, "Oh yeah! This is Crescent Rose!" she said as she reached her hands back, held it with her hands and showed him its compact form, "Since we're in public, I can't show you her full form, but this is my baby!"

"You created her yourself?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yup! Sketched her, designed her parts and then crafted her all by myself!" she was proud of herself at that moment, of what she managed to create, how her brainchild was as deadly as she was beautiful.

"...That's really impressive, Ruby." Jaune said with a smile, but inwardly, he grimaced. He could see that the scythe-sniper rifle in its full form would be as big, if not bigger than the girl. It's also made out of material that likely made it as heavy as, if not heavier than her own weight for it to be durable, so if she had the sheer muscle strength and bone durability that are needed to carry and _wield_ it effectively despite her small size, then that probably meant... 'I can't tell her... I can't tell her that with how heavy her weapon is, it's one of the causes for her lack of growth.'

She looked so proud with her creation that he just didn't have the heart to tell the innocent girl that her current grief was caused by herself when she created her beloved weapon.

"Oh! That reminds me, what about yours?" Ruby asked.

"My own weapon?" Jaune asked, to which Ruby nodded with blatant enthusiasm. He could pretty much tell that she was more excited to see his weapon, a weapon enthusiast through and through the girl was, but he had to disappoint her, "I have this."

He showed her his closed right fist, and Ruby examined it with confusion and humming noises that conveyed how she didn't really get the blatant answer before she asked, "...But you're not wearing anything, no gauntlet or..."

"My fists are my weapons." He answered, and it made her look at him with mixture of confusion, bafflement, awe and slight disbelief, "Well, so are my feet, elbows, head, knees and so forth. I don't just punch." He continued as if he was speaking common sense.

"...You fight the Grimm with punches and kicks." Ruby stated flatly before she pouted and said; "You could just say that you didn't bring your weapon with you." She chided him.

He simply smiled and answered, "But I do." He said, "In many ways, my whole body is a weapon. I'm stronger than I look, Ruby."

"But what's a Huntsman without a weapon?" Ruby asked, "A Huntsman's weapon is a part of them, a part of their soul, they're like an extension of their bodies." She sighed and continued, "I mean, I guess that means you're strong enough to just not use weapons, but how could you have no weapons at all? Does it mean that you only use your Aura and Semblance? But they can only go so far you know."

She saw him cast a rather cryptic smile, a smile that she recognized from her father and Yang whenever they were hiding something that they were not going to, no, _wouldn't_ tell her, and then he said; "But a Mantle can go even further than both combined."

Ruby stopped at that statement, "...Mantle?" from her perspective, he went on a tangent, but that smile... There was something that he's hiding. "What is that?"

His response was to lightly tap her forehead with the back of his index finger's tip and said, "Maybe later, Ruby. For now, let's find that elusive cookie cake, shall we?"

Ruby pouted at Jaune for the treatment she was given, but she was willing to let it go. They've just met and people kept secrets, so it's okay for him not to tell her what he meant by that. "Fine..." that didn't mean that the word was no longer stuck in her mind though.

'Mantle... What could he mean by that?' Ruby wondered to herself. She had heard the word before, but she was pretty sure that he didn't mean the name of the kingdom that became Atlas.

* * *

 _Later on..._

As Jaune and Ruby exited 'Trussard's', Jaune had to say to Ruby, "That was excellent indeed. Thank you for introducing me to this place, Ruby."

"No problem! And thank you for going along with me to find this." She said as she lifted up the plastic bag carrying the box that contained the cookie cake, "I can't wait till' Yang sees this, this is going to be _the_ best graduation party she'll ever have!" she exclaimed.

Having been informed of the reason why she wanted to find it while they were eating at 'Trussard's', Jaune replied with, "She'll certainly like it if it's as good as the ones we tasted."

"Yup!" she agreed before she sheepishly added, "O-oh! And thank you for paying for it too. It was more expensive than I thought it'd be, I wouldn't have been able to buy it." She said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Don't worry, we split the bill at 'Trussard's' after all, call it even." Jaune waved it off.

Ruby smiled wider than before. More and more she found Jaune to her liking. Calm, insightful, courteous and very welcoming and accepting despite how intimidated she was at first of him by his sheer size and presence. Still is a teensy tiny bit, considering that he was quite... physically imposing. Jaune had definitely become one of her favorite people ever.

"I guess this is the part where we have to part ways, huh?" Ruby asked before she said, "Well, it's been nice hanging out with you. I hope we'll get to meet again someday, maybe at Beacon once I'm old enough?"

"Then study hard, Ruby. I'll be waiting." Was what he said.

Encouraged by what he said, she nodded, "Mm! I'll definitely-!"

She was cut off when there was the sound of conflict coming from the far southern region of the city. Both Jaune and Ruby along with everyone around them turned to look, as all of them, without exception, began to wonder what was happening. "...What's going on there?" Ruby couldn't help but to ask, "That area's the... the industrial district." She muttered.

There were sounds of repeated gunfire, small explosions and then, the already darkened sky was slightly brightened when there was a large explosion occurring.

"What's happening there?!" Ruby asked again as around her, people were beginning to go towards the chaos, drawn by it like curious moths drawn to a flame.

"Judging from where we are, either sudden invasion from a foreign kingdom..." which wasn't likely considering the relatively peaceful state of the world, "Or, most likely, a gang war." Jaune told Ruby.

"A-A gang war?" Ruby only heard of the term through movies, she never thought she'd ever heard, or see it happening in real life! "Here? In Vale?"

Another sound of explosion made them flinch before Jaune, seemingly having had enough, turned to Ruby and said; "Ruby, where's your home?"

"I-In Patch, I need to go to the docks, and it's on the industrial district." Ruby answered.

Ruby heard Jaune growled with closed mouth as he looked to the inferno and hear the sound of police sirens everywhere. "Then stay here while I-"

"Can I come with you?"

The question was asked before Jaune could finish his order. Ruby quickly approached him and told him, "I know you're going there to do something and I want to help." She said, "Anything I can do, I'll do it, there must be people who need help there, there's got to be more than just the gang members, I want to help."

She knew how dangerous it was, she wasn't an idiot despite being what her sister and father called as 'airhead'. She knew that to go there was like going to a warzone, but she wanted to do something, anything, and considering that he was going there, she could accompany him and help him along.

Blue eyes met silver as Jaune and Ruby stared at each other, as if clashing their will against each other in a stare-off that lasted only for a couple of seconds but felt at least like an hour to her. Jaune then pointed at 'Trussard's' and said, "Ask the owner to keep the cookie cake until we return, tell him that I'll pay for it."

Ruby's eyes widened in shock. She didn't expect to have her desire acknowledged. Sure, she might be young, but that didn't mean that she was helpless. Seeing a situation such as these tugged at her heartstrings, and at her core, she was a girl who would give her assistance to those who needed it, a girl who would always offer her hand and arm to help, and now, she was given an implicit permission to do so in a dire situation!

She took a deep breath as she nodded before she disappeared in a petal of roses in front of Jaune. The door to the restaurant opened for a couple of seconds before a blur of red came into a stop right in front of him, showing a Ruby Rose whose demeanor had turned serious as she said; "I'll follow your lead, Professor Arc." She said, referring him by his position of authority, effectively recognizing him as her supervisor for the moment.

"Then I'll carry you." He said before he swept her off her feet, eliciting a small squeak from Ruby as she was bridal carried by Jaune who bent his knees a bit, "Hold on tight to me." He ordered before he jumped high, taking Ruby's breath away as she held herself closer to him.

"...Oh... Oh my gosh! W-we're so high!" Ruby said as they were now high enough to look down at the commercial district. And when she cast her eyes south... "...Whoa, that's..."

"Chaos." Was all Jaune said as he looked at the spreading fire, the flickering lights that were gunfire and the explosions that were still happening as it spread. These things caused sounds, and it all came together as a cacophony of chaos that told them one thing: They were looking at a battlefield, at a war started and is fought by criminals.

It was hell on Vale, and they were going to go right in the thick of it.

* * *

 _In Hell on Vale..._

"Who the hell leaked our location?! The 'Dea Family' the 'Il Diavoli' and the fricking cops and goddamned Special Forces aren't supposed to know where we're smuggling our Dusts tonight! I was so careful that only few knew where it was before tonight, who the _fuck_ among them loosened their lips?!"

Neo grimaced at hearing her boss cursing. Things was going bad for them and his gang, they were under-manned for such an assault, surrounded on all sides and were left to fend for themselves. The only saving grace from all this though was that the two gangs who were attacking them were also attacking each other, so all the heat wasn't solely on them and that Roman had a contingency plan.

Still, how the hell did this happen? Roman's smuggling operation wasn't really that big, its size of operation allowed it to be under the radar, they bribed some of the authorities and no one should be the wiser. She thought as much until the cars came, followed by a couple of fricking helicopters, then there was the fricking cops and somehow the Special Forces with their Huntsmen, then she remembered that there was a tense moment from all sides before someone from somewhere shot a gun and everything went to hell and spread around the docks and the industrial district.

Neo was currently following Roman as they left their own gang members to fight the others as a distraction, an act that showed how desperate he was, and indeed, this was a rather desperate situation.

"It had to be because of the Dusts! It had to be! The seller told me that it wasn't hot, but he must've _lied_!" She had never seen him so worked up before, "The shipment must've carried a lot of heat! What, was it stolen directly from Atlas or something?"

Neo didn't know. Despite her being his right-hand woman, he had been rather secretive as of late ever since she told him that she was thinking of leaving.

" _...One last job. One last job and some preparations to make up for your empty spot..._ Then _you can leave."_

She was valuable, she knew that, Roman knew that, and that's why she didn't expect him to let her out so easily. So it was a form of kindness from him that he was willing to let her go after one job.

" _...Really?"_

" _Really. Now get out please, I still have some work to do, and it's killing me."_

However, this one job had devolved into chaos of epic proportions. Beset on all sides not just by rival gangs but with the authority, this was, undoubtedly, one of the times when they were really in a tight spot.

The only reason that they were here now instead of being among the corpses that was their gang's members when the first wave of bullets, Dusts and other stuff happened was because of her Semblance, which allowed them to escape seconds before the metaphorical fuse was burned and the bomb blew up.

"Fuck, whatever the case is, nothing to do about it now than to run..." Roman muttered as they went into an alley as the world around them seemed to burn. "Damn it, I knew I was overreaching a bit, but even in the worst scenario that I conjured up, I never thought that the fallout would be _this_ chaotic."

Neo was both curious and frustrated by how the whole event played out and so asked him, "Why the hell did you take it then? You're always taking it slow and steady, what made you compelled to strike a deal for that many Dust at once?" she asked him.

"For what else do you think?" he asked rhetorically, "D'you think it's easy finding a replacement of your quality? If you can't have quality, then you gotta have quantity, Neo. Honestly, that's the very basics of winning a fight. Can't throw a single heavy punch for a one-hit K.O? You better have the stamina to continuously punch the other guy to submission."

Though their surroundings were in chaos, Neo couldn't help but to gape at how he pretty much admitted that what he was doing was fueled by the fact that she was going to leave, "It was... because of me?"

Roman sighed before he chuckled and shook his head, "Don't think too much about it, you're valuable, that's all, and it's hard to compensate your presence when you're gone." He said, though she could tell that he was playing it off as being logical and pragmatic.

All this chaos... was started by her. She should feel guilty... Which she did, but not because of the destruction that she was unknowingly the catalyst of, but because of how this pushed Roman to misjudgment and bad decisions that led to this situation. In Neo's point-of-view, Roman didn't deserve any of this, and yet he was in this situation because of her.

He respected her enough to acknowledge what she wanted, but he was not going to let her go until he had a sufficient replacement, be it in the form of manpower or resources, and now, it looked as if he as going to lose a lot of both of them tonight, all because of her.

"Let's just go, we're going to have to reach the spot soon or-"

A small but nevertheless powerful explosion that came through the wall of the adjacent building to their right caught them, sending them flying and hitting the wall on the opposite side. "Oof!" Neo got the wind kicked out of her at the sheer force of the explosion.

"Agh!" Roman's back hit the wall hard before he fell back down on his hands and knees, "Ghk...! Who...?"

"Roman Torchwick... And with his right-hand woman as well." A calm, suave voice of an adult woman echoed throughout the alley, "I knew I'd find you."

His eyes saw who it was, and his response was... "Oh fuck my balls..."

Neo looked up and saw a beautiful, well-developed woman with fair skin, blonde hair that reached the base of her neck and a pair of golden eyes the shade of the sun with black-colored lips which must've come from a lipstick. She was wearing an unbuttoned long-sleeved, light-orange colored suit-jacket above a tight, high-collared black leotard that had a heart-shaped golden emblem on top of her busty breasts along with a pair of light-orange colored fingerless gloves -which showed her lack of nails- with a circular emblem made out of gold on her hands. On her legs, she was wearing a matching pair of light-orange slacks that is held on her hips by a black leather belt and a pair of golden-plated formal shoes. The woman cut an imposing figure, standing at least at 6'3 feet tall-as tall as Roman was- with prominently filled body outline that emphasized her physical beauty and lethality, and her golden eyes, seemingly shining quite brightly in the dark, were narrowed as she looked at them with sheer contempt.

Neo knew who the woman was, and for the life of her, she was struck with fear. She was 'Boss Dea' of the Dea Family. Neo quickly tried to activate her Semblance-

"Don't even try it, midget." Growled the woman as her right hand was on Neo's neck, her _real_ neck, preventing her from moving to safe herself. Still, she smirked in response to her threat and it made the boss lady turn to look at where Roman was... only for his figure to shatter like glass and disappear.

The hold Dea had on her neck tightened and she said; "Creative, and very loyal of you, I respect that. Even if your boss doesn't deserve it."

Her response to that was to maintain her smirk and show Dea the finger. Which burst into a flash of _very_ bright light that made her look away with her eyes closed shut and weakened her grip, allowing Neo to escape and put some distance between her and the boss, but she did not run from her.

She needed to hold her off if she wanted Roman to get away without having to worry about her. However, she was wary of the boss, because she knew how the woman climbed through the ladder to become Boss... By sheer force and a Killer Semblance.

Neo's heterochromatic eyes changed colors as she blinked, watching Dea closely in case she tried anything. She would need to use her Semblance to fight the woman evasively, her Semblance was as deadly as they come and it was as if it was designed for killing and cover it up, a literal _Killer_ Semblance.

"Grrrrmmm...!" the woman growled without baring her teeth as she opened her eyes. The hands beneath the gloves seemed to glow in a way that made one think that her veins were filled with magma, and said veins were creeping up her arms, shoulders, neck and even to her cheeks, making her look positively demonic, "Cheap trick of a Semblance you have!" she derided before she took a deep breath and became more collected, "Very well... Let's see how well you can hold out against me with it. One single touch... and you're dead. _Do_ try your best." she recommended with unnerving calmness as the veins seemed to produce steam.

Neo gulped. The fight wasn't going to be easy, even if she wasn't aiming for a win.

* * *

 _With Jaune and Ruby..._

Her Semblance allowed her to move at insane speed at the cost of it eating her stamina. Despite the limitations her own body put however, Ruby was zipping back and forth rescuing innocents from being trapped, burned, killed in the crossfire and other similar fatalities that could befall them had she and Jaune were not there.

Aiding them were members of the police who were not involved in the firefight that was still going on around them. With their assistance, the burden of saving those who were slightly lessened, but nevertheless, the girl in the red hood were adamant in using her speed to make the process faster.

As she carried a little boy on her arms, Jaune was there alongside her, carrying at two adult men on his shoulders, and an adult woman and a teenage girl on his arms, all of them were wounded to a degree.

She couldn't help but to think how much more effective and _fast_ he was. Here she was, running dangerously low on fuel with her constant usage of her Semblance, and he still looked calm as he carried a large amount of people who, when combined, had to be heavier than his own weight.

Though she was strong on her own, that didn't mean that she could do what he did. After all, her Semblance also seeped her stamina and strength, so to use it in conjunction with carrying people to safety would be very costly on her side.

Jaune though... He was different. She understood now, the confidence he had when he told her that he had no weapon other than his own body, his fists, legs and other stuff one can use in a fight. He was simply _that_ strong to not even going to bother with a weapon. Strength. Speed. Stamina. He could outrun a Grimm and maybe charge through them, why would he need a weapon at all?

She arrived in the evacuation spot with a flurry of red rose petals behind her while he was decidedly much less theatrical with just a gust of wind, but it was nonetheless as effective. "Alright, here's more of them."

"Thank you, sir, miss." Said one of the police officers as she, along with her colleagues scrambled to take them from Ruby and Jaune. After they did, Ruby let out a large huff out of exhaustion before she slumped a bit. In an instant, she felt Jaune's hand on her shoulder as he asked...

"Are you okay? We did at least eight runs back and forth non-stop, do you want to rest?" his blue eyes conveyed his concern.

"N-no, I'm," she had to stop to take another breather before she shakily gave him a thumbs up, "I'm okay... really...!"

"You don't _look_ or _sound_ okay." Jaune stated flatly before he said, "Tell you what, rest here for a bit, I'm going to scour the area more, okay?"

"I-I can..." she tried to say a whole sentence without screwing up only to fail because she was indeed exhausted, "I can still..."

"Don't overwork yourself." Jaune said as he patted her shoulder, "We're only human after all."

She turned to stare at him after that remark. 'Yet you don't look even a bit winded, and you carried more people than me at the same speed...' she thought to herself before she finally relented, "F-fine... I'll-I'll rest."

"Good. Stay here, and don't go anywhere, alright? And if you want to, see if you can help those we've gathered, ease their pain, comfort them."

"B-but I don't know how to do it..." she told him with a grimace.

"Just be there, offer a small smile. A small gesture like that helps ease the mind." He told her, "Or, if you don't want to, then just rest. You're not a Huntress yet, so it's okay, they'd understand if you just want to lay down for a while. Just don't go anywhere, okay? I'll be back."

Then he exited with a gust of wind and Ruby fell on her butt. "Uuuuh..." she moaned as she nursed her legs and thighs, feeling the burn that had been building up since she started running with her Semblance. "That has to be a new record for me..." she remarked to herself.

She looked at the direction Jaune went and cast a sad smile towards it. She admired him, his strength, his trust in her, his willingness to help, his grace under pressure, his wisdom... Hard to believe that he was just three years older than her, just a year older than Yang was.

His drive compelled her to do more, to be as brilliant as he was, as capable as he was, and so after a couple of minutes of rest, she shakily stood up and looked around. The police officers were taking care of those they brought here, so Ruby decided to try and find more.

'But Jaune told me to stay...' she thought before she shook her head, 'No! I can't let him do all the work! As strong as he is, he's just one guy! Two people searching can make the effort faster!'

With that in mind, she began to run, not using her Semblance this time, deep into the district to find anyone whom she could help. Her silver eyes looked around her surroundings as she ran. Her Semblance allowed her to become exponentially faster, but unless she had a clear, unobstructed space between point A to point B, it's difficult for her to navigate.

Previously, she was capable of navigating through the streets and alleys of Vale's Industrial District thanks to Jaune going as fast as she was, running right beside her. Other than him, everything else had been a blur. It was... quite a new experience, having someone else running beside her as she used her Semblance.

'I really have to ask him to do that again.' Despite the fact that she was in the middle of a chaotic event, she couldn't help but to wonder if she could experience what they did again. Running alongside someone else inside what was used to be _just_ her own world... it felt wonderful, and rescuing people as they did it was a bonus.

Some time later, she found herself looking at a parking lot of a partly ruined factory. It was empty, save for some ruined cars... and a solitary figure standing with her back leaned against one of them as her arms were crossed. The girl with a slight tan to her skin looked like Ruby's age and height, her straight hair that flowed downwards was longer though and was colored bubblegum pink, her eyes was of the same color and shade as her hair, and her lips were colored in pink as well.

'Who's she?' Ruby wondered as she approached the rather cute pink-haired girl wearing a rather baggy short-sleeved white t-shirt that was transparent enough to show the black, patterned lacy bra she was wearing beneath, 'Is she older than me?' Ruby thought with a slight blush and a frown as she looked down to the slightly baggy blue jeans and a pair of black slip-on shoes she was wearing. "Hello? A-are you lost, miss?"

The girl turned to her, and Ruby stiffened a bit when her pink-colored eyes landed on her silver eyes. Something about the girl seemed... wrong. "U-um... do you need help?" she was unsure if the girl really needed help, but Ruby had to be sure.

Her question earned Ruby a raised eyebrow and a small smile before the girl asked, "Aren't you a little short to be a Huntress, little red?" her voice was as high-pitched as she was, but the way she used her voice conveyed a sense of maturity. The contrast that came from the difference between the two gave Ruby a pause.

"Well... aren't you a little bit short to wear that kind of underwear? And that kind of shirt? And that lipstick?" Ruby shot back before she shook her head at her defensiveness about her her height. "A-anyway, do you need help?"

"Hm..." the girl removed her back from the car, uncrossed her arms and began to approach Ruby with a small smile on her face, "Do you _think_ I need help?"

Ruby was unsure what to do. The calm demeanor she had amidst the chaos in the district was unnerving and she subtly put her left hand back to prepare to fight, her fighting and survival instinct was flaring as she looked at the admittedly beautiful girl who was sending shivers down her spine.

"...I don't know." Ruby admitted with a scowl before she added, "Right now, I'm having doubts."

"Smart girl... Well, whatever, I was getting bored anyway..." The pink-haired girl muttered before she grinned... the sight of the girl's mouth widening at an inhuman degree and showing Ruby almost all her teeth, her rows of inhumanly white, glistening teeth, made the red-hooded girl flinch, "I wonder what you'll do now... Will you attack me? Will you back away? Will you try to run and forget this meeting between the two of us? Go ahead, little red... Show me what you're made of."

Let it be known that Ruby had faced a pack of Beowolves before. She had once faced a group of Ursa, she had seen examples of Humanity's Scourge firsthand and emerged victorious against them, but this... this _girl,_ if she can even be called that, this girl in front of her, was making her feel as if she was facing a predator.

Why? Why did the girl terrify her so? Why did she feel as if she was face-to-face with a ravenous beast ready to swallow her whole, literally and figuratively?

Ruby's fight-or-flight instinct took over as she took out her weapon and let its full form unfold. Crescent Rose in her sniper rifle form was ready to be used as she aimed right at the girl's head. "Don't. Move." Ruby hoped she sounded authoritative and didn't sound as scared as she really was inside.

"Hm..." the girl, thankfully, closed her mouth into a smirk as she asked, "Have you ever killed someone before, little red? Despite the amount red and black you wear, have those clothes ever been graced with the blood of your enemies? Or, like any other would-be Huntsmen, you've only fed that oversized farming tool of yours the black ichor of the Grimm?"

Once again, Ruby's heart was struck with fear. If it kept on accumulating like this, she'll be paralyzed, she needed to rise above it! "D-don't try to distract me! Y-you just stay right there or I'll-!"

"Or you'll what? Shoot me?" asked the girl before she stretched out her arms wide, "Go ahead... No one's stopping you."

Ruby's grip on her beloved Crescent Rose shook. Facing an enemy that did not fear the sight of her weapon, even to the point of calling it an oversized farming tool, -which told her that the girl deduced its other form somehow-, was something that she didn't expect.

Everyone she had ever met either admire or fear Crescent Rose or even both. Yet the girl in front of her was simply unimpressed. "I-I'll shoot you! I swear I will!" she yelled, "...B-but only at the non-lethal area..." she added with a quiet voice.

"...Hm... You've never faced a human before, have you? What about faunus, you've _never_ faced them in battle either? Such a shame, a tool made for glorious killing... at the hands of a naive pretty girl."

The girl approached with the sick-looking grin on her face once again, "Hey... let's test your skill with that weapon of yours..."

Ruby barely saw the girl's right foot stomping hard into the concrete ground and used it to propel herself at terrifying velocity towards her. The palm of the girl's right hand was in front of her and she heard the girl say...

"Shall we?"

* * *

 _With Neo..._

She ran and ran to prevent herself from dying. Everywhere she went, explosion followed thanks to the figure chasing her. From alley to alley, from rooftop to rooftop, Neo had led the boss to a prolonged chase away from where Roman's contingency plan was located.

So _this_ how it felt like to be the prey. Neo is used to being the predator in almost all of her combat experience, being a prey was... challenging, fun in a way, exhilarating as well, but very much terrifying.

As she landed down to another alley, she turned to where she heard the sound of the boss landing, pointed the tip of her parasol at her, which opened up as she shot a bullet to the boss' head, only for her hand to come up and caught it. Neo saw as the bullet, in her grasp, was suddenly riddled by vein-shaped energy, and when she squeezed it, it all but broke apart into dust.

She reached into the interior suit of her pocket and pulled out several knives. With a swish of her arm, she threw it right at Neo at blinding speed.

Neo knew that she had to avoid it without her Semblance or touching the knives. However, there were too many, and the woman was approaching fast behind them, so she rolled to the side and when she got up, she immediately used her parasol to bat away the hand that was so close to touching her face and kicked Dea right in her stomach.

Knowing that the woman was one unflinching juggernaut, she quickly retracted her feet and rolled to the side again as she evaded her deadly touch, which hit the ground and caused a small explosion that shook a meter-wide diameter area from where her hand touched the ground.

Having a Semblance that allows one to charge explosive energy and send it through touch was a cheat code of a high degree. Even her own Semblance wasn't as bullshit as hers, it still had its limitations which hindered it from being a Killer Semblance, but this woman's Semblance and the degree of control she had over it was something else.

Not to mention the woman's impeccable reaction time and how she seemed to be able to correctly guess which one's her 'illusion' and which one was actually her, it made it clear that Neo was no ma-

"You are no match for me, you know this. So it must be your loyalty that fuels you." Said the boss as her glowing veins steamed still, "Why are you doing this? What secures this undying loyalty to the man who are, for all intents and purposes, a small-time crime lord with keen mind yet lacking in ambition?"

Besides a sense of gratitude to the man who pretty much allowed her to rise up the food chain? Besides a great debt she owed to the man who agreed to this whole deal because he wanted to compensate for her absence? No, she couldn't think of anything. Not that she'll ever talk to the boss though.

Even as wounded as she was, her clothes were ruined at the sides of the torso, one of the sleeves were ripped apart, there were burnt bruises and slashes all over her body, even on her face, Neo still stood. Most of the wounds she received wasn't even because of Dea's initiative, as she had been distracting her. She wasn't willing to lay down just yet.

On the boss' part, she did not look as well-kept as before either. Her suit was partly slashed in places, there were also deep cuts on her slacks and also the heart ornament on her leotard was cracked. On her face, her right cheek is also adorned with the same deep cut that was still bleeding, and her left eye was slightly bruised. Neo didn't just distract her by tricks, she also used force.

But somehow, the boss merely took it all in stride while Neo was panting out of sheer exhaustion.

"A silent archetype... But not out of disability, is it?" Dea asked before she nodded, "Very well then..." her hand then touched the side of the building on her left and from where she touched it, the glowing veins on her arm seemed to spread to the wall at a very fast pace to reach Neo before it resulted in a massive explosion of fire and debris heading her way.

She quickly jumped back, but the sound of something moving from above made her look, and she saw the boss on the wall, above the section which she blew up, preparing for a lunge at her while she was in mid-air and unable to maneuver anywhere.

Dea lunged, and Neo prepared for impact, waiting for the right moment to strike. When she was close enough, Neo tucked up her knees, allowing her to avoid the boss' lunge and delivered a double kick to her stomach.

However, she didn't come out unscathed. Dea took the attack and bear the pain to grab Neo's hair. She twirled her body leftward in mid-air, pulling Neo by the hair and threw her right across the street with her immense strength.

Unbalanced, Neo skidded across the asphalt of the road onto the concrete of the sidewalk and then finally crashed her back onto the wall of the building across from Dea. Her Aura barely protected her from the impact, she could feel the nerves in her spine tingling unpleasantly with sheer agony and she tried to push herself back up with a grimace before she felt her hair pulled again, and as she was held up by the hair she saw the golden eyes of the rival boss above her, who was kneeling down on one knee.

"...Out of Aura?" she asked with her head tilted, and when she saw that Neo only glared at her with a sneer, Dea only smiled, "Thought you'd never tire yourself out." She raised up her hand and Neo saw with wide eyes how the tips of her nail-less fingers suddenly opened up and vicious-looking black reptilian claws, at least two inches long, sprouted out of them with a fleshy squelching sound, "I suppose I should've finished you when our fight began... But I've grown to respect you to not finish you quickly. Your tenacity and your loyalty, misplaced as they are, are splendid. You were an excellent fighter and a great right-hand woman. Too bad I have to make an example out of you. For what it is worth... I commend you."

Her claws then moved fast towards Neo's face, but instead of closing her eyes, she glared at it, defiant in the face of her death...

Her defiance paid off in the form of another hand grabbing Dea's wrist and stopping it from piercing through her face. "Hands off of her. Now." Ordered a voice that she knew well, and a smile was on Neo's face at that moment.

"...Who are you?" Dea asked as she turned to look at the man who stopped her. Cutting a very dangerous presence with his physique and sheer power that he possessed, Dea knew that she found herself face-to-face not with an annoyance like she thought before, but a massive obstacle in her way.

"Someone who'd not ask twice for you to get your hands off of her." Was the blonde man's simple answer.

'His grip is strong... But he did not look as if he's exerting his whole power. Hm...' thought Dea before she asked, "What is she to you, that you dare disrupt me, Dea, from taking her life?"

"Someone I would like to be friends with." He answered.

"Oh? So she is not even your lover or a friend? Yet you're willing to risk your life to save her? Interesting..."

"The one's who's risking her life here is you." He retorted, "Either you remove your hands or I'll _have_ them removed."

...She could sense that he wasn't all hot air. His threat was not an empty one, it was a promise, that much she could tell. She reminded her of someone... someone whom she cared for and loved, whose steely personality is contrasted with her kind heart. For that reason alone, she considered his request... and decided to be merciful.

Dea removed her hands from Roman's right-hand woman and stood up, looking up at the man who only spared her a passing glance before moving to Neo. Looking at how gentle he was with her and how the young woman accepted this gesture, Dea asked of him, "Tell me your name."

He only turned slightly to look back at her, "Jaune Arc."

"...Now that is quite a legendary family name you hold." Said the boss as the claws on her hand were retracted _inward_. She then smiled and said; "I am Dea, and remember Jaune... I chose to be merciful because of you. So be responsible for her, or else... I'll come for you."

After that, the woman left with a literal explosive leap and Jaune turned to the small woman in his arms, who, after spending her time fighting in silence, spoke, "...Always... late... to the rescue... huh?"

He sighed at that and told her, "I should've been faster."

Neo laughed, but only managed to let out a cough instead, "G-ohok! That's... a hero for you... always fashionably late."

"Must you be snarky at a time like this?" Jaune asked rhetorically before he sighed and lifted his hand up slightly, right above her chest, "Now hold on, I will heal you, okay? But this will be painful, so if you feel like screaming, just scream."

"Heh, that's what he- ghk!" whatever clever remark she wanted to say was stopped as she coughed again, and this time, she coughed out blood, "Ow... My back... I think it's broken..."

"Well, this'll be worse than that, but only for a moment before you faint." Jaune warned before he said, "I'll close your mouth, okay?" he asked, and when she gave a weak nod, he covered her mouth with his left hand, "Alright. On three... one... two... three."

His fingers pierced her body, and before even a second had passed, Neo's body convulsed as her muffled screaming echoed on the block for a moment.

* * *

 _Moments later..._

Instead of leaving her with the other civilians and among the police officers, he put Neo away on a warehouse near the docks, where she laid her down on a corner, with her back against a wall. She was fully healed, but was now fully unconscious, and he intended to go back to her soon after he made sure everyone he and Ruby had rescued was safe.

Leaving her with her parasol on her lap, Jaune raced across the city towards the evacuation spot. He looked at the people around and see that everyone save for one were there. Ruby was missing. He quickly moved to one of the police officers and asked, "Excuse me, have you seen a girl in red and black clothes? She was alongside me when we were-"

"Oh yes! She uh, she went that way." Said the police officer, "I think she was trying to find other people, but... she hasn't returned since then."

"How long has she been gone?" Jaune asked next with urgency in his tone of voice.

"Uh... ten, fifteen minutes?"

Without a word, he turned and zoomed to where the police officer was pointing, towards a certain parking lot that only contained ruined cars... and the prone form of one Ruby Rose and her beloved Crescent Rose in scythe form right beside her, embedded on the ground. "Ruby!"

He was instantly at her side. He turned her around and found her still breathing but with her face badly bruised, deep and shallow cuts all over her body, some parts of her skin and flesh were even outright flayed or ripped and her clothes were in severely tattered condition. She had been in a fight, a fight that she no doubt lost. "Ruby, can you hear me? Ruby!"

She stirred at the sound of his voice, but she did not wake up yet. So he lifted her back a bit and supported it before he moved to grab her legs...

Which woke her up.

"aaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

With eyes wide, she screamed as she scrambled in sheer terror. She pushed herself away from him with eyes filled with fear and her breathing was quick and heavy. She was in shock, that much can be seen, her eyes were unfocused, her body was shaking, it was clear that the reaction was a knee-jerk one, and could only be because of some sort of trauma.

"Ruby, it's me, Jaune." He called out to her, still kneeling on one knee.

"...J-Jaune...?" her bruised silver eyes were finally focused as she recognized him, "Jaune..." she muttered before she shakily stood up... And then, she broke into a run, "Jaune...!"

She ran towards him and fell into a hug as she began to weep on his shoulder. "Thank goodness...! I thought... I thought I was...!"

Whoever she had fought had won in a way that it caused her quite a bit of trauma, that much he could see, and so he held her tighter and rubbed her back, "I'm here, I'm here. Whoever you fought had left, and if they return, they won't hurt you again, not as long as I'm here."

"She's... She's a devil!" Ruby said, still hugging him tightly, as if afraid her attacker could come soon, "She can't be human! Not with how she acts! I tried to fight her, but she's so strong...! Her ability is terrifying, and-and...! She, she... _toyed_ with me! Treated me like an animal for her to... to eat!"

"Eat?" Jaune couldn't help but to ask.

"She _ate_ parts of me that she cut and flayed!" she screamed, her voice filled with horror, and Jaune's eyes widened, "She even _bit_ and _tear_ some parts of me with her own teeth and said it was... delicious...!" she whispered as her body's shaking intensified, "She could've killed me... She beat me bloody, made me unconscious, I could've... Why didn't she kill me...?" she asked as she trembled.

"I don't know... But I promise you, you are safe now. She won't hurt you anymore, not when I'm with you." Jaune's voice was calm, collected, yet as sharp as a sword, "I promise you, Ruby. I stake my life on it."

Though she nodded, Ruby's breath was shallow and she was hyperventilating. She was still bleeding all over and worst of all, traumatized, so Jaune needed to act fast. "Ruby... I'm going to have to heal you, okay? It'll be painful, but I want you to bear it. You're strong, I know you are, so please, trust me, okay? Otherwise, you'll die."

She was still shaking and remained silent before he heard her gulp and quietly said, "Okay..."

Slowly, he laid her down on her back. Her arms were still encircling his neck however, and so it prevented him from moving a bit away, so he chose to just do it this way. "Alright, it'll be painful that you'll scream, so I'll have to cover your mouth, okay?"

Ruby gulped and nodded, after which Jaune placed his left hand to cover her mouth, like he did moments before with Neo.

With his right hand above her chest, he said to her, "On three. One... two... three."

She felt his fingers piercing her chest and screamed against his palm. Two seconds later however, she fainted and fell into a deep sleep. Away from the terror she had experienced... if only for a moment.

* * *

 _With Roman some time before..._

Seeing the black featureless van with black-tinted window in place made Roman smile. He had prepared it in case of a rainy day, and right now, it was a storm. He immediately went into the back door and sat. "Alright, let's move it yeah? And please find a route that doesn't have a traffic that's overcrowded."

With silence, the car began to move, and Roman sighed as he brought out a cigar from the interior pocket of his suit and light it up with a small gold-plated lighter. He leaned back as he took a deep breath with the cigar on his mouth.

'Well, that was all fucked up, wasn't it?' he thought to himself as he slowly breathed out the smoke, 'Jeez, with how chaotic this becomes, I hope she doesn't end up leaving... Everything needs to be re-organized... Then again, with who she's facing, I hope she just stalled her long enough before she got incapacitated. The lady means business.'

Still, a thought was nagging him, 'Why was the Dust hot though? Why did he lie? To whose benefit was it for?' he wondered. His gang, while quite big, was not an expanding empire like the Dea Family or the Il Diavoli were, so if he wanted to bring him down, then for who? 'The council? No, they wouldn't make a plan that would cause a lot of heat like this, so who?'

He began to ponder and the van drove without being hindered as Roman was lost in his own world. 'Could it be either Dea or... Miss N? Alright, let's think about it, what would the Dea Family earn here? They and their boss clearly want me dead, but even with my past refusals for their proposed coerced merging, they wouldn't go so far as to _eliminate_ me, considering how they rose up. Miss N though, now she's a much seedier character with her Il Diavoli, what with her hand in human trafficking and all... However, the guy who sold it to me wasn't affiliated with anyone, I've even checked his background beforehand, so who...?'

The only possible suspect was Miss N, but he had no idea how or why she would want him to suffer like this. As his rumination ended up with nothing however, the van was being driven to a rather secluded place in the district, below a bridge right at the side of the river.

It stopped there, and Roman frowned, "Hey, where are we? Why are we stopping?" he asked, and when there was no response, his frown changed into a scowl, "Cole~, if you're not going to answer, then I'm going to blast Melodic Cudgel from right behind you~" he threatened as he lifted up his cane a bit and pressed a button that opened up a hole and popped up a reticle at the end of it.

However, when there was no answer again, Roman grew uneasy. He quickly moved and opened up the door to the van...

Only to have a small hand pushed him back in with strength that belied its size, and with a loud bang, he crashed back-first into the other side of the van. Before he could recuperate, the owner of the hand went inside and closed the door, darkening the whole van.

"Hello, Roman." The voice, which sounded like that of a little girl's, echoed inside the van, "You're in quite a rut, aren't you? Separated from your gang members, your right-hand woman... and now, you're here with me."

"Who are you...?" Roman asked as his eyes began to adjust to the dark, "From your voice, you sound like a little girl, but... a voice can be deceiving."

"Hm... would you like to see me, Roman? You need only to ask." She asked seductively.

"...I'd _love_ to." He said sarcastically before the switch for the overhead light was turned on... and he saw that the one who spoke _was_ a little girl, a small girl with bubblegum pink hair, pink eyes and pink lips... a little girl whom he couldn't help but be scared of. "...Pleased to meet you."

"Pleasure's all yours." Replied the girl with a smile before she crouched down and looked at his form with amusement in her eyes, "So this is Roman Torchwick... On close-up, you look even more unimpressive." She said nonchalantly before she said; "I'm Lucy. Now, I'm sure you're wondering why you're here."

"Is it because of you, kid?" Roman guessed. From the way things going, this... _thing_ in front of him might as well be the devil herself.

"It _is_ because of me. That would be impressive if I didn't make it all obvious." She said, "But think further, Roman... Is this an isolated case? Or is it only a part of a grand scheme?" she asked, encouraging him.

His eyes twitched as he quickly realized what the girl was implying. "You mean to say... that all of this... is because of _you_?"

"Correct again, though it would've been more impressive if you managed to guess that _before_ I had to clue you in." She stated nonchalantly, "It took quite a bit of preparation. Stealing those Dusts from the Dea Family took months to prepare. It didn't help that they managed to steal it from Atlas, so the heat was quite substantial. Then, to wait for the right time for you to take the bait... When you reached out to the seller, I knew it was time to strike."

Roman snarled, "Crafty bitch, aren't you? Still, I suppose I should be flattered..." he smirked, "To go through all that effort to get to me must mean that you _like_ me or something." He said smugly.

"Not like, more... annoyed." She dismissed his assumption, "You see, among the figures in the underground, there are only few that I truly respect. First there was Dea, the bomb juggernaut herself... And then there's you." She scowled at him and said; "The static mastermind. Never one for grand ambition, only to follow the flow of things... Though you've maintained yourself well, your lack of... gumption to expand or improve is sickening, especially for one such as you."

She grabbed him by the chin then and said; "To have potential and not fulfill it is the most vile thing in my eyes, especially one with your kind of job. With your mind, you could be a great rival to either Dea and I, yet why didn't you do so?" she asked.

Roman's eyes widened then as she just outed her identity, "You're... Miss N?"

'Lucy' smirked at that and said; "Indeed... Now, as to why I did all of this, well... let's just put it in the simplest of manner: It's to cut off a branch with a stunted growth." There was silence before she continued, "Which means you. You're comfortable with being static, and Dea might have acknowledged you to a degree, but between us three, you are the only rival who do not contribute, who do not force the other to become better. Instead, you only mingle about in content with your mediocrity, and that hinders our growth."

She gently caressed his cheek and said; "In other words... you must go, dear Roman."

"...Not a chance in hell, you bitch." Roman said before he used Melodic Cudgel and shot a point-blank explosive Dust bullet at her.

At the very last moment, the girl moved the end of the cane to the side. However, the harm had been inflicted, as the residue managed to wound her right shoulder severely. Roman was about to continue with a kick, but he was stopped by the girl's hand.

"Il Diavoli... Do you know what that means, Roman?" she asked as her skin seemed to ripple before his eyes and somehow it healed the wound on her shoulder, "It's a language from Middle Mistral which means 'The Devils'. I didn't choose that name simply to inflict fear, you know. I chose that name... because it _truly_ suits me."

Before his eyes, he saw as the girl's form began to expand, becoming taller, fuller in figure, and as the form was changing, so was her voice, as it became deeper, "I believe it is what's known as... Killer Semblance. A Semblance so powerful that it stands above most others and giving its user a truly unfair advantage. Dea has her well-known 'Explosive Energy', while I... well, it's best if this ability is kept hidden you see..."

Before him now was what is best described as the adult form of 'Lucy' from before. Though she was still crouching, the previously rather baggy clothes she was still wearing became rather tight against her 6'3 feet tall, lithe and well-formed figure. Though her face had changed from 'cute' to 'beautiful', the sheer power of presence that she exuded only made her seem even more unnerving.

"I believe it's colloquially known as shape-shifting... But it'd be more appropriate to call it 'Total Anatomy Control'. I'm able to control whatever my body does and has to a great degree, which is... quite something, no?" she asked rhetorically before she lifted her left hand... "Like this for example."

She jabbed her index finger and embedded it deep on Roman's chest. It passed through the ribs and poking his lung, making Roman scream in pain.

"How is this possible, you may ask. Well, a human body contains iron, which I have in abundance compared to other humans, and I _did_ say that I have total control over my body, so I simply hardened the tip of my finger using said iron and compacted it. From the bone to the skin, it is now harder than steel. Not to mention that I am also coating it with Aura." She then wiggled her finger, making Roman thrash in sheer agony, "Incredible, isn't it?" she asked rhetorically before she pulled it out.

As Roman tried to cover the hole, she continued, "Now..." she punched through the wall on her left side and pulled out the driver's slightly chubby body, showing Roman her incredible strength and that Cole, his driver, is dead. For how long? He found that he didn't want to know. "Take a look at him. Cole was his name, I think. Why is he dead? Well, that's because of something that I implanted in his brain."

She then extended the index and middle finger of her left hand along with the thumb and put them deep inside the man's ear, creating a squelching noise that, were Roman not in severe pain, would make him puke. She moved her fingers around, gouging out the inside of the man's ear before she pulled out something that looked like, if one were to describe it, a small chunk of fleshy skin that beats like a heart.

"A part of my body. There's a bit of neuron in there along with bits of other things. It's basically a parasite that latches onto your brain and forces you to do my bidding, even from afar." She revealed, "It takes a lot out of me to create one of these. For a small size, they're surprisingly very costly. Still, this one still looks good, so... buon appetito~"

In front of him, he saw her ate the hunk of flesh whole, chewed it a bit and then swallowed it. Revulsion could not accurately describe how much she loathed her and everything that she represented and stood for.

"Ah~ I feel a bit fuller now thanks to that." She said before she explained, "I lose parts of my own body this way if I don't have an excess of the things I need to transform my shape and substance. However, I have accumulated quite a large amount of biomass over the years to compensate, so that part's taken care of."

She then grabbed Roman by the neck with the same hand that she had used to grab the chunk of parasitic flesh and said; "Though I could always take more. Redundancy of resources is important with my Semblance. So... can I take your heart, dear Roman~?" she asked oh so sweetly as she placed her right hand above where his heart was.

Her Semblance and the nonchalance she had in using it was an affront to everything that made sense, a brand of horror that is much too disgusting for Roman to stomach. "You... you're a monster, you know that? A _beast_ barely hanging on to that mask of humanity." He said with contempt before he spat on her face, "Fuck you. Do what you want, abomination."

He saw the spit slowly absorbed by her skin, indicating that she could control her body so that she could consume things through her skin, and how the smile on her face turned even wider, "I shall. Oh, and in this form, please... call me Nox."

So _that_ was what the 'N' stood for, was the last thought that Roman had before he felt her hand _punching_ through his bones and muscle to reach his heart and then as she squeezed his heart on her palm, she continued on, punching through his spine and the wall of the van that he was leaning on, with his connected heart still in her hand and her forearm was deeply embedded into his body.

With a swift yank, she pulled back, and this time, all the arteries and veins connected to his heart were ripped apart by the sheer force, and Roman, thankfully, had been dead before that even happened due to sheer blunt trauma he received.

With his still-beating heart in her hand, she began to squeeze it tighter, allowing her skin to begin absorbing it as it broke apart in her grasp. The blood and the viscera were slowly swallowed by her skin but not before she took a bite of the heart and eat it the old-human way.

"You know..." she said, some parts of his heart still in her mouth, "I would've killed you at an empty parking lot had that girl not been there. But even though I had a little fun, I had to change the spot, which is a pity, because that way your body would've been found sooner there. Tasty heart by the way, very healthy despite the fact that you're a smoker."

She took a last bite of the raw heart before she then removed his black bowler hat from his head, grasped his head with her hands and said, "Arrivederci, Roman Torchwick. Had you been better and more ambitious, I might not have been so inclined to plan to kill you in such a manner."

* * *

 _The morning after..._

Jaune sat with Ruby side-by-side at the edge of a dock away from the public in the now peaceful and relatively silent Industrial District, waiting for the ship that will take her back to Patch. The normally energetic girl who was being coated by Jaune's dress shirt, leaving him with just a short-sleeved blue t-shirt, was still rather gloomy, no doubt because of the fight that she had lost to a psychotic, cannibalistic girl who was still at large.

The physical wounds were healed without leaving a single scar thanks to him, but her mind was something that he could not restore by what he did. Looking at the box inside the plastic bag she was carrying, Jaune said; "You know, I think Yang wouldn't mind if you eat some of that cookie cake."

Ruby's silver eyes looked at the box before she said, "It's for her getting into Beacon... I shouldn't..."

"Ruby." Jaune said as he placed his hand on her shoulder, "Trust me, she won't mind. And besides, I think you bought it for both her and yourself, right?"

He saw her smile then, it was a very tiny one, a fraction in size to the ones she had before the chaos, but it was a smile nonetheless as she said; "Yeah..."

"Then just eat it. You deserve to eat something as sweet as that." He said.

The girl nodded then as she pulled out the box, opened it and used the plastic knife inside it to slice a part of it and ate a piece. Her smile widened more as she chewed on it, "It's... it's good." She said as she continued to eat.

There was a long moment of comfortable silence between the two as Ruby continued to eat the cookie cake. Subconsciously, Ruby scooted closer to Jaune to touch shoulders with him, and the contact made her visibly more at ease.

He _had_ promised her that no one will hurt her as long as he's around after all, so Jaune decided to take it in silence and wrapped his left arm over her shoulders, which eased Ruby even more.

Some time later, the sound of loud but slow-paced footsteps alongside the clacking of a cane signaled the arrival of someone else into their shared moment. They turned back slightly and saw a man with grey hair dressed in green and walking with a cane.

"Ozpin." Jaune greeted the man as he stood up, followed by Ruby.

"Jaune." Ozpin nodded at him as he approached them, "Miss Ruby Rose." She greeted her as well.

"O-Ozpin, Beacon's Headmaster?" she asked, surprised at his presence. She, followed by Jaune, stood up and faced him.

"You may be wondering why I'm here. Well, the last thing Mr. Arc here reported to me yesterday was that he was going to the commercial district. After hearing the Gang War that happened in the nearby industrial district, I knew that he was going to go there, and I trusted him to not hurt himself too badly. However, what I didn't expect was that you brought along Ms. Ruby Rose with you."

"W-wait, how do you know my name?" Ruby asked.

"I know Qrow and I've been keeping an eye on him." Ozpin answered smoothly, "I know about you from him, and I may have searched through the numerous camera footage of the districts during the incident to find Jaune... Only to find you going along with him. In other words, I saw Mr. Jaune here _endangering_ the life of a civilian."

Looking at the sharp look Ozpin was sending Jaune with, Ruby felt a need to intervene, she subconsciously dropped down the box on her hands as she approached Ozpin "W-wait a minute, that wasn't his fault! I-I was the one who wanted to come with him, he ordered me to stay at the restaurant where we were eating before, but I insisted to come with him!"

"He could've refused you." Ozpin retorted, "Which what he _should_ have done."

Guilt. Ruby felt her heart being eaten up by it as she realized her insistence to come led to Jaune being scapegoated, but her heart was beating faster... and it was telling her to speak up and stand up for him, "I would've followed him anyway. If you know me through my uncle, then you should know that I'm stubborn like that." She defended him, "I wanted to help, and I did. All the wounds that I got..." she showed the tattered clothes with tears where the wounds used to be located to Ozpin, "They're because I went on my own and decided to fight against someone above my skill level. They're not Jaune's fault."

Ozpin, still calm, began to speak again, "Bu-"

"NO BUTS!" Ruby yelled out loud, shaking in rage as her silver eyes began to tear up again, "It was all me, okay?! It was _my_ choice, _my_ mistake! Don't blame this on Jaune!" she began to poke Ozpin's chest, " _I_ was the one who acted rashly! If I had stayed, I would've been fine, but I didn't! That's _all_ me! So you leave him alone! He did nothing wrong!"

For a moment, if one were to look at the interaction from the sidelines, they'd think that the scariest person between the three was the girl who was more than a foot shorter than the man behind and in front of her.

Ozpin simply sighed and cast a wistful smile at Ruby, "Despite the fact that you experienced something horrible and traumatic, you still have strength of character... I'm glad that what happened didn't fully change you, Ms. Rose." He said gently, "Very well, I accept that you took full responsibility and shall refrain from taking disciplinary actions against Jaune."

Ruby huffed, still feeling rather hot by the burst of courage she had, and was trying to calm herself down, "Good... He doesn't deserve to be punished." She muttered as she went back to Jaune who smiled at her and mouthed 'thank you', which earned him a wider smile than before, and it became even wider when she saw that the box she had dropped was caught by him.

"Ms. Rose." Ozpin called her name again, "Forgive me for asking this, but can you describe your attacker?"

She still remembered it vividly of course. After describing her, Ozpin said; "...You said you managed to fight her for... how long?"

"Five minutes at least. Her Semblance... shape-shifting, I guess, was both scary and powerful, I couldn't do anything, any cut I gave would heal, then her body would harden itself so I can't cut her, and I wasn't at my top form. I should've ran instead, I was being stupid..."

"But even when she was toying with you, you managed to fight her for that long and gave her some wounds?" Ozpin asked, to which she nodded. Seeing her inquisitive expression, Ozpin explained, "Ms. Rose, from how you describe her, I can safely assume that you fought Lucy, a secret agent of the Il Diavoli, a direct subordinate of Ms. N, just one degree below her in the mob's hierarchy, and one of the most dangerous person in Vale if not the whole Four Kingdoms."

Ruby's eyes widened as she now realized that the girl she fought was truly a monster. "...She's... she's that powerful? B-but then why isn't she all over the news?"

"Her existence is considered as a linchpin to the Il Diavoli and the elusive Ms. N herself, and therefore, there are people high above who wanted to keep it a secret that we know what she looked like." Ozpin answered before he sighed, "I warned them that this might lead to this kind of situation..."

Ruby shook her head, trying to banish the image of the woman away. "I would've ran away if I had known..." she muttered.

"Precisely what I tried to say to them." Ozpin said, "I wonder what her presence in all this mean...?" he muttered before he said, "Either way, even though she's still at large, she'll just remain underground again. You won't be hurt by her again, Ms. Rose."

"I know." She said as she looked at Jaune, who simply nodded back to her.

"Mr. Arc, have you promised Ms. Rose something?" Ozpin asked after he saw the silent interaction between them.

"I promised her that she won't be hurt as long as I'm around." He answered.

"I see..." Ozpin muttered before he turned to Ruby and ask, "Ms. Rose, may I just say that your courage and sense of justice and honor is simply extraordinary for a girl of your age. And the fact that you managed to hold off someone like Il Diavoli's Lucy spoke highly of your talent. Qrow had told me about his nieces' skills and capabilities, but hearing it firsthand is quite eye-opening."

"...T-thank you." Ruby said with a blush as she looked away and scratched her cheek.

"With that said, Ms. Rose, how would you like to go to Beacon for this semester?"

"...Eh? R-right _this_ semester? But I'm only fifteen!"

"There are cases where students are accepted at an even younger age." Ozpin said, "I believe you have what it takes to be one of those students, Ms. Rose."

As Ozpin began to talk it out with the excited Ruby who thankfully seemed to have forgotten about the ordeal that she experienced due to Ozpin's offer, -which she accepted of course-, Jaune got a text message from another young woman whom he had healed the previous night.

 _-Meet me under the Haddock Bridge.-_

He knew the implication of the message. She had left the moment she woke up at dawn before Ruby did to try and find her boss, but not before asking for his Scroll number so that she'd send him a text when she found him.

"Ruby, Ozpin." When they turned at his call, he continued, "I have to meet someone. She's in this district and something's come up. Ruby, here's your cookie cake." He gave her the box before touched her shoulder, "Will you be okay?" he asked as he needed to be sure of her mental state.

"I-I'll be fine." She assured him in a rather shaky voice, "At least I think so... B-but I'll try my best, I promise." She said, this time her tone of voice was more stable and composed.

Accepting what she said with a nod, Jaune smiled as he patted her shoulder and said "I'll see you later, okay? If you want to talk to me, we've exchanged Scroll numbers, so call or message me whenever you like."

"O-okay!" Ruby nodded enthusiastically before Jaune waved and left... Seconds later after he had left, Ruby kept staring at the spot where he once was with a smile on her face and tearful eyes filled with joy as the idea that she'd meet him again was firmly planted in her mind.

Her right hand subconsciously grabbed on the shirt that was still draped on her, as if assuring herself that he was still standing behind her, protecting her. It helped her take her mind off of what happened.

* * *

 _Beneath Haddock Bridge..._

Jaune came into a rather isolated area below the bridge where she saw Neo standing by a black van with an opened door, her back leaned against it as she crossed her arms, and her head, with the top now covered by a black bowler hat with a red band, was tilted downwards slightly.

Approaching her told Jaune several things: One, from her body language, the way she was tightly crossing her arms, it was clear that she was holding back her emotions. Two, among those emotions were anger, sadness and frustration. And three, and the most obvious one... Her boss didn't live to see another day.

When he was a few feet from her, he asked, "Is he...?"

Her response was to point her thumb at the opened door, prompting him to look inside... And saw Roman's dead body with an empty hole where his ribs, heart and spine should be... and a head half-intact that showed him missing his brain and left eye. Blood and torn flesh were scattered around and there was another dead person on the van as well with a gouged out ear.

Jaune shook his head at the scene of his grisly death. He might've been a criminal, but this kind of death was... No one deserved this kind of death.

Looking back at Neo, he saw her shaking even more violently, as if a cracked dam ready to burst, and Jaune reached out, touched her shoulder, "I'm sor-"

She punched his stomach. Though she didn't do so lightly, it did nothing to him as she said, "It's not your fault..." she muttered before she looked up to meet his eyes with her own, which were now both pink and seemed to be blazing with fire, "Whoever did this... will pay. I don't care _who_ they are, how _powerful_ they are... They will pay for what they did by my hands."

He saw a flicker of something on her back, an apparition of something that seemed to reflect the light. It was like a fragment of a mirror, visible for one second before it disappeared.

Neo, even if she had not realized it yet, had materialized her Mantle. Her light-based Semblance had been successfully metamorphosed.

She was now like him, Penny, Glynda and most likely Ruby... A Mantle-user.

* * *

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **So a bit of body horror, which was new to me, I kind of didn't expect that I was able to write that kind of stuff. Anyway, so two new... 'OC''s, if you want to call them that as they are clearly inspired by characters from another series which I took and combined together to make them.**

 **Dea and Lucy/Nox... If you've read the series that I mentioned above, you'd know the characters that served as inspirations for their character and/or powers.**


	9. Welcome to Hunting School! Part 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the original stuff from which I took to make the stories I have published and will publish here.

* * *

She knew that it was dangerous to go there despite the fact that it was daytime, but she didn't care. She was curious, she wanted to know why her brother would regularly go deep into the wilderness near their hometown as of late.

Sometimes it happened at night when the others were asleep, other times it was when the others were not home for one reason or another, but Jaune always found the time to go into the wilderness for quite a long time before coming back.

It had to be for a purpose. There was no way he would go out there for no reason at all, and June, the secret secret keeper, had been trying to figure out why. Though she came up with quite a lot of possibilities, one of which she was very certain of, she wanted to see it with her own eyes.

From at least ten meters behind him, June followed as Jaune, who was unarmed and unarmored, ventured into the forest. Unlike her brother, she had chosen to arm herself with a steel short sword and shield, the type of weapon which her father had been training her with so extensively.

Their parents always taught them the value of taking precaution, yet her brother was ignoring that teaching right now. '...Come to think of it, lately he's been focusing on unarmed fighting a lot.' June remembered how it frustrated their parents, but because of his strength, they let him get away with it.

Because of how much strength he possessed, she assumed that he was going into the wilderness to either train... or to find Grimm to kill. Still, assuming things only gave her so much satisfaction.

She kept her distance as far away from him as she possibly could and maintain her noise level at a very low bar. She had been said as light-footed by her parents more than once, and it enabled her to be an excellent stalker.

Using it in spars compared to using it in a situation like this were two different things though. For one, she lost concentration so many times and two she almost caused too much noise that would draw his attention several times. Getting closer than ten meters from him wasn't a gamble that she was willing to partake.

Still, she managed to follow his trek deep into the forest with a thick enough canopy from the trees to cast a big shadow that loomed over them. So far, her brother hadn't noticed her, but at the same time, he hasn't done anything to warrant such a long walk.

'...Wait a minute.' June frowned as she looked around, 'Come to think of it, where are the Grimm? We've been here long enough, and they haven't even showed up once.' She thought to herself.

Having been taught that the wilderness was where the Grimm dwell and to never go there without a capable adult, June thought that all of them were just waiting for humans to get away from civilization and would lunge at them the moment they entered their territory.

Still, the fact that she hadn't encountered even one of them yet made June suspicious and wary. It was like expecting a mugging to happen to her while she was at a place where it happened very often because the place _seemed_ empty.

Her musings over the whole idea that they haven't encountered any Grimm yet prompted her to lose her sight over Jaune. "...Shoot." she muttered as she realized that her brother had continued walking while she was stopping to look around.

She immediately ran to where she saw him before... Only to stop at the spot where he was and looked around, not knowing where he went next.

Remembering the lesson in tracking that her father had taught her, she looked around for traces that showed where he went. Finding a slight disturbance on the grass in front of her, she began to follow it, hoping that it'll lead to him.

Deeper into the woods of the forest she went, following the tracks, looking for her brother... When she heard the sound of a distant battle, she began to change her trajectory towards it, assuming that it was her brother, having considered the proximity between his last known location and how close the battle seemed to sound.

She ran and ran towards the sound... Only to be stopped by a Beowolf that was sent flying on its back, landing into a skid before it stopped with its head on the ground in front of June.

Caught like a deer in the headlights, she remained still for a couple of seconds before she remembered something vital about the Grimm...

" _Remember, if a Grimm has been killed, it will disperse into black ashes seconds after the fact. If you see a hurt Grimm lying motionless, it's still alive."_

June quickly unsheathed her sword for a stab at its head, only for it to open its eyes and rolled to avoid it. "Shoot!" June cursed as she pulled out the sword from the ground, pulled out her shield and faced the Beowolf who was now looking at her with a snarl.

A combat situation outside of a sparring. June had been training for this, it didn't matter if she was pushed or pulled into it, what mattered was her resolve. She calmed herself down as she called forth her blue-colored Aura, preparing for a fight.

With a roar, the Beowolf lunged, and as if mimicking what it had done before, she rolled to the side, dodging its moves and stabbed its foot. Though hurt, the Beowolf moved its claws towards her, which prompted her to pull out her sword, rolled down below his torso and then use it to stab its stomach.

She did it once, then twice then thrice in quick succession before she rolled backwards down the gap between its legs, out of the Beowolf's claws that were lunging at her. She then proceeded to stab the Beowolf right in its hole-less ass, prompting a yelping noise from its mouth.

She then leaped on its back, crawled to reach its front side and then stabbed her aura-covered sword through its neck. The Beowolf immediately fell down to the ground, already beginning to disperse into black ashes, prompting June to roll off the body and huffed out of relief as her adrenaline began to dial down a bit...

Only for another Beowolf to suddenly come into the fray lunging at her with its claws reaching for her and its jaws wide open with its incredibly sharp teeth displayed in front of her sea-green eyes.

For those precious few seconds, as the teeth and claws were approaching her, she actually saw flashes of the events in her life that led to this point. Once again, like a deer caught in the headlights, June was unable to move, but this time, it could very well prove fatal for her. She felt that this was the moment of her death.

Until it was stopped when the Beowolf was pulled back, yanked by its feet before the one who pulled it back and slam down to the ground ran on its back, jumped and delivered a powerful stomp that passed through its head and landed on the ground, cracking it in the process.

Her brother, the eleven years-old Jaune, stood on top of the Beowolf's slowly dispersing carcass, and with how he looked, standing on top of a dark monster that was about to kill her just a second ago, she swore that she had never looked at him in a more heroic light than ever before. He turned to her with a look of surprise on his face before he approached her, knelt down to look at her in the eye and then he asked; "June, you didn't look hurt, but _are_ you hurt? Do you feel okay?"

She blinked once, twice, and thrice, tearing up more and more in escalating succession with each blink before she began to weep, both out of sheer relief and happiness for having survived what she thought would be the way she died.

What Jaune did was to immediately put her into a hug, which exacerbated her mood, but she nevertheless hugged him tight.

The two spent a long moment of silence before both of them heard distant growls and roars and the sound of a lot of things coming closer to them fast. Jaune immediately went and carried her on his arms before he jumped back a bit, dodging a lunging Alpha Beowolf before he leaped forward and hit its head with a kick to its left cheek that immediately shattered a large portion of its skull.

As if on cue, a large pack of Beowolves beginning to swarm over to them. The first one to charge at them and swipe one of its claws earned a stomp that destroyed its hand on the ground followed by a thrust kick to its head that shattered its skull completely.

The second one tried to get the jump on him from behind but he jumped over it with a twirl and landed behind him just as another Beowolf was lunging at him once again from the front, to which he responded by changing his sister's position so that she lied with her stomach on his left shoulder. He grabbed her back to stabilize her position and then delivered a straight jab with his right hand that caved the front part of the Beowolf's skull before he shoulder charged the one that he jumped over, sending it flying away then re-positioned her on his arms again.

As her brother was running an impromptu gauntlet against the Beowolves, June was constantly being held by him, allowing her to see his combat capability firsthand. 'Wow...' June was awed as Jaune fought the Beowolves and winning despite him holding her in his arms, effectively being handicapped by her presence, yet he was constantly on top of them.

The Beowolves were less of a pack, they were more of a swarm, yet he kept on fighting and fighting and fighting...

At the end of it all, the Beowolves swarm was rendered to nothing as Jaune stood with June still in her arms. She looked at their surroundings with an astonished look on her face. Her brother had fought a large swarm of Grimm and won while he was handicapped by having her lying on his arms.

She heard him huff as he said; "That's the last one for the day..." he then turned to June and asked; "Can you walk, June?"

Well, she could still feel her legs and it didn't feel as if they were hurting, but... "Is it okay if I want to stay here for a while longer?" she asked.

He accepted that with a nod before he walked with her still in his arms, "Let's go home then." Mid-way, he turned to June and asked, "Why were you following me?"

"Well... I've been noticing how you've been going to The Wilds on the borders of our hometown lately, and... I want to see what you were actually doing." She explained, "I had assumed that you were going to fight Grimm, but... I wanted to make sure, so..."

Despite how ridiculous and dangerous it sounded, especially in light of how _long_ the fight with the rather large swarm ended up becoming, her brother only huffed and said; "Now you know. What do you think?"

"What do I think of what?"

"Of this whole thing with me going to The Wilds to fight Grimm?" he asked, "Was I good enough, you think?"

" _Good_ enough? Brother, you've destroyed all of them _while_ you were carrying me around!" June exclaimed, "And you don't even look tired from all of that. You're _more_ than good enough."

He smiled at that and only said, "I'm glad then."

"Yeah, you were..." June felt a bit bashful as she said this; "You were really heroic back there." She stated with a slight whisper, "I mean, you were holding me the whole time while fighting a huge swarm of Beowolves, it's like those stories mom and dad used to tell us."

"Thank you." Jaune answered to her comparison before he added, "Pity that you weren't strong enough to fight alongside me though."

Reminded of how she had been relying on her brother the whole time made June's eyes widen before she pouted, realizing that the gap in power between her and her brother was still very large, like a wide ravine that will take a long time and effort for her to overcome, "One day... One day, I'll be at your level."

She promised to herself, but for now though, she decided to enjoy being held by her brother. It felt... really nice having him to rely on, even if she also wanted to be his partner instead of just the one whom he saved in a moment of distress.

One day though... One day.

* * *

 **Welcome to Hunting School! Part 1**

* * *

Looking at her sister looking so focused as she gazed outside the window of the airship they were taking to get to Beacon made Yang frown. Ever since that day when she personally went to pick up Ruby after the disastrous Gang War on Vale's Industrial District that took quite a large number of casualties from all sides combined, she saw how Ruby's demeanor had changed.

Not an overhaul in personality by any means, but it was enough for Yang to take notice. After all, when your usually hyperactive little sister became subdued, prone to muttering audibly and incoherently in her sleep and/or waking up in the middle of the night with an audible gasp, it was hard to not see it.

Not to mention that she had been increasing the amount of her daily training with an intensity to it that... didn't seem like Ruby. In addition to that, when Yang asked what happened during the Gang War, she became very evasive.

" _N-nothing, it's just... Well, I've got accepted at Beacon, two years earlier than the others, so I'm training for that."_

Though Yang was not one in a good position to criticize her sister for being evasive as she had done the same thing many times before, she had pushed on, knowing that there had to be more than just that, and Ruby...

" _I said it's nothing, Yang! If I say it's nothing, then it's nothing, okay?!"_

She had never seen her become so defensive without giving a coherent reason why. Even when she criticized Ruby's design for Crescent Rose out of concern for her sister's small body, she used well-reasoned arguments to defend her 'baby'.

Still, having experienced moments where she'd rather not talk about things that troubled her, Yang understood and conceded... Even if she didn't like it. Nor did she like the fact that her sister seemed to have... a friend she liked to talk with through her Scroll.

Her shy, reserved, difficult-with-new-people and prefer-weapons-than-people little sister, now liked to frequently talk to someone over the phone whose identity she was _also_ very evasive about, she always pretend that she did not just talk with someone over her Scroll whenever she or their dad walked in on her cutting the line off.

Knowing what the signs could very well mean, not to mention that... shirt that she found and the subsequent idea that popped up in her head, which was that her sister had gotten herself a boyfriend was... well, let's just say that she respected her sister's privacy and desire to just be left alone, but one day, she had to show him _and_ her what's what.

"What're you looking at, Rubes?" Yang asked her as she stood beside her sister, "Anything out there? A Grimm maybe?"

"No there wasn't." Ruby answered, "I was just a bit... spaced out. It happens a lot these days, hehe..."

Well, at the very least she knew that. The more things change, the more they stay the same, and it can be applied to Ruby too. "So... a Beacon freshman at fifteen." Yang began, "Nervous?"

"A bit." Ruby admitted with a nod, "But I'm also excited!" she exclaimed, "I still can't believe that I don't have to wait for another two years."

"Yeah, I was as shocked as dad was when the headmaster himself sent a letter of acceptance to our house. I knew something was up when I saw you alongside _the_ Ozpin, but I never thought that it'd be because of this." Yang said, "So you're excited then, huh?"

"Yup. A bit nervous too, but..." Ruby smiled then as she said; "I know there's at least two people that I know there, so it makes me feel a lot better."

"Two?" Yang asked out loud, "I'm assuming I'm one of them, but who's the other one?"

"Uh..." her little sister looked hesitant before she seemed to remember something, "Jau-, that is, Professor Arc, of course!"

'Ah yeah, the hot blonde professor.' Yang nodded in understanding, reminded that there was a professor there who was not as old as the other ones were, built, handsome and was actually a quite cool person all-around. "Oh yeah... still, you only talked to him when he bumped into you, so... it's not as if you two are friends."

"Uh, we... we talked a lot more after that, sis." She revealed, "I-I might've forgotten to tell you that uh, we met a couple of days back, before the Industrial District became a battlefield." She said, "He helped me find that cookie cake we ate together, and... well, remember the dress shirt? He gave it to me when my clothes got all tattered, and I hid it from you cause' I know you'd get jumpy and would ask questions, but then you found it anyway and-"

She tuned out Ruby the moment she asked about 'the dress shirt' because she did remember that. She remembered that she found a long-sleeved black dress shirt on Ruby's laundry pile which she moved to _her father's_ pile because she assumed it was his, and hours later, while she was in her sister's room, she was asked by her sister if she had seen a shirt matching that description.

" _Oh, I put it on dad's pile, so it's maybe on his closet now. He might've got it mixed up or somet-"_

When Ruby used her Semblance to speedily get to their dad's closet, took the shirt away and placed it on her own, Yang was very much suspicious.

" _Rubes, did you just...? Isn't that dad's? ...Wait... whose... shirt is that?"_

" _No one's!"_

" _...Ruby... don't lie to me, whose shirt is that?"_

" _It's mine."_

" _It's several size too big for you to wear, whose-"_

" _I use it to go to sleep, it's comfy and it makes it easier to fall asleep."_

" _You used... a man's oversized dress shirt... to sleep."_

" _What? It's normal, everyone does it."_

" _Who is this everyone, Ruby? The only girls I know who wear oversized dress shirt are-"_

" _Are who? Everyone, because it's a normal thing to do? Alrightthen, pleasegetoutofmyroomYang, goodbye."_

She had been too shocked by the implication to stop Ruby from pushing her out, and it had become something that neither of them dared to bring out again, Ruby because she was being evasive and Yang because she refused to believe that her sister had... done _that_ and kept the shirt as... some sort of... souvenir.

Now she was saying that it was Jaune's?

The fuse that was her temper ignited as her blonde hair began to light up and her lilac eyes turn red.

"Y-Yang, calm down!"

* * *

 _Moments before..._

"Hello again." Said Blake Belladonna as she approached the familiar young woman dressed in an unbuttoned dark-blue leather jacket over a white t-shirt, a pair of black track pants with blue-colored lining on the outer side and a pair of black running shoes.

The young woman whose blonde hair was styled into a low ponytail turned her sea-green eyes at the one who spoke and smiled before she waved, showing a part of the pair of black fingerless gloves she was wearing, "Oh! Hey Blake." She greeted, "It's been quite a while. So, you're going to Beacon too?"

"Yeah." Blake answered with a nod, "To be honest, I didn't expect you to be in this airship." Expecting the curious look on her face, Blake clarified, "Not because I don't believe that you're capable, but... it's more because that you're _so_ skilled. I thought you were already a Huntress."

"Oh, well thank you, but no, I'm still just a 17 year-old, so... not a full-fledged Huntress yet." June said before she extended her hand and said; "Still, looking forward to four years of Beacon with you, Blake."

"Same here." Blake reciprocated the gesture, "If at all possible, I'd like to be in your team too." She stated.

"Well, let's leave that for later. We don't know how the whole teaming up thing's going to work anyway." June said before she added, "Still, same here. I'd like you to be a part of my team too if it's possible."

Blake felt at ease with how accepting June was. With how she left her behind to talk to the cops, she had thought that June won't be so cordial to her when they met again, but she was glad to be proven wrong.

"One thing you need to work on though?" June asked before she stealthily gestured to her bow with her head and then spoke in a low volume, "I know why you're hiding it here, but... If we're ever in a private place, between friends, you don't need to do that. I mean, doesn't it feel uncomfortable?"

"...A bit." Blake admitted. Though not used to being open about her very being with a human, she was willing to try for the girl who helped her avoid a deeply uncomfortable situation, "I'm used to it though."

June simply sighed before she nodded, "Alright. But remember that I know... And I don't mind. I will never be bothered by it, okay?"

She knew that, and she couldn't be more pleased that June knew she was a faunus and thought little or nothing of it. Blake nodded with a smile and was more than willing to spend the rest of the flight in relatively comfortable silence.

"Oh yeah, I just remembered, you know that you still need to pay me back in full, right?" June asked.

"...Ah." Blake was reminded of her promise she made after June helped her, "Right, um... Is there anything you-?"

"Not right now." June waved it off with a friendly smile, "Just making sure you still remember." She said.

Blake nodded at that, and they were about to fall into another moment of comfortable silence when...

"Y-Yang, calm down!"

Looking over to where a red-haired girl in black-and-red themed clothes was yelling at a blonde girl in brown, yellow, orange and black ensemble who seemed to be on fire, both figuratively and literally, June and Blake knew then that Beacon will be quite the four-years worth of experience to go through.

'Well...' Blake thought as she stole a glance at June, who was a bit fixated by the blazing blonde girl, 'At least I know a friendly face here.' She smiled at the thought of already having someone she could trust and rely on.

* * *

 _Later on..._

Looking in satisfaction at the Dust that were being carried away by their handlers was one Weiss Schnee. Having had bought herself a private room on the airship had allowed her to escape the boorishness that was the crowd of freshmen. Save for a few, most of them handled themselves below the standards she expected from those who were accepted at one of the most, if not _the_ most prestigious Huntsman Academy in all of Remnant.

Her bright blue eyes gazed at the massive structure before her, the one behind the fountain, one that depicted the Huntsmen of old over a corpse of a Grimm, a lowly Beowolf, and she took a deep breath. 'A new start...' away from the direct influence of her father.

She began to walk towards where the amphitheater is located for the welcoming speech by the headmaster and the deputy headmistress when she heard a slight commotion behind her that made her stop.

"Yang~! C'mon, why are you so sullen? I told you why I had his shirt!"

"...I don't know whether to be annoyed or angry, that's the problem."

Looking back, she saw a sheepish-looking, short red-headed girl along with a taller, frowning blonde-haired one beside her amongst a crowd of freshmen that just got out the airship. Though the blonde had the look of a potential huntress with the well-built physique she flaunted with her rather skimpy clothes, she frowned at how the red-haired one looked and behaved as she seemed so unfitting for a Beacon student, 'And she looks younger than everyone else too...' she thought to herself before she saw someone familiar amongst the crowd.

Blonde hair, sea-green eyes and a familiar sword tucked into a white armored sheath. She quickly backtracked and began to approach her, barely noticing that the familiar girl was in a conversation with a black-haired girl with a bow right beside her.

"June!" she called to her, prompting the girl to look away from the girl with the bow and to her. Her face brightened, as did Weiss', and she stopped just a few inches away from her, "Good afternoon! I assume you're here to supervise us?" she asked.

"Supervise?" June asked with a frown before she turned to Blake and had a look of sudden realization, "Oh! You think that I- Yeah, no, I'm the same grade as you, Weiss."

The white-haired girl was shocked at that answer. "Wait, what?!" she exclaimed, "Y-you're also a freshman?" she asked.

"Yeah. You thought I was a Huntress already too?" she asked.

"W-well, who wouldn't? You have a great grasp on your Semblance, you're an excellent fighter, strong, fast and nimble, you had me fooled that you were already a professional huntress!" despite her statement, there was a smile on Weiss' face as she said; "But... this _does_ leave open the possibility of us becoming teammates. With our combined abilities, we can-!"

"Let's not jump to conclusions." Said the girl with the bow, "Not even _you_ know how the team placement is going to be handled."

Blue eyes met gold ones as Weiss glared at the girl who just interrupted her. "...I believe we haven't met... Weiss Schnee, and you are...?"

"...Blake." said the girl with the bow with a flat tone of voice.

There was a long moment of silence as the two stared at each other with sheer animosity until June had to literally get between the two of them and said; "Alright alright, let's not start the day glaring at each other. Let's all just go to the amphitheater, okay?" she said to the two of them with a sheepish smile.

"...Fine. I'll see you later, June." Blake said as she went away first.

When Blake was far enough, Weiss huffed, "Hmph. Who was she anyway June? She seems rude." She said, mostly to herself.

"A friend." June answered honestly as Weiss turned to her with raised eyebrows, "Like you." She said to Weiss before she tilted her head towards where the other freshmen were going, "Let's go together then, Weiss."

She nodded graciously before she went and walk beside her, "Certainly. You know, come to think of it, we do not know each other's Scroll numbers, do we?" she asked before she took out her Scroll, "May I?"

June simply smiled widely and took out her own Scroll, "Sure."

Both of them exchanged phone numbers as they went into the amphitheater already half-full with the freshmen. "Let's find a good seat. Oh, over there is good!" Weiss exclaimed as she pointed her finger at an empty spot for at least five before she moved towards there at a brisk pace, "Come on June."

June simply took the order in stride and said, "Coming dear, coming."

Weiss sat at the middle and June took a seat right to her left. When they settled down, Weiss said, "So, tell me about you-"

Suddenly, the seat to June's left was taken by none other than Blake, who quickly took out a book and began to read it. At the sight of the girl she deemed as rude, Weiss narrowed her eyes before she continued on, "As I was saying, tell me about-"

"Over here, Yang!" said another familiar girl whose hair was red as she took a seat to Weiss' right while the other blonde girl took the last seat on the spot for five. "Hi, can we sit here?"

"...You're already sitting there." Weiss couldn't help but to retort.

"...Oh. S-sorry..." said the girl as she looked away sheepishly.

"Anyway, June, tell me about you-"

" _Everyone take your seat in an orderly fashion. The Headmaster is about to give a speech."_

The voice of one Glynda Goodwitch forced Weiss to stop talking as the lights on the amphitheater, save for the ones focused on the podium, died down.

She huffed, but nevertheless fell silent. She swore that she'll talk to June again right afterwards, however.

* * *

 _Later on..._

Looking over at the line of teachers gathered at the slightly raised stage in front of the freshmen made June gleeful. There, at Glynda Goodwitch's right side, was her brother, standing tall and looking very stylishly dapper with his ensemble. 'So cool... but where did he get that, though?'

His usually scraggly blonde hair was a bit trimmed, but some parts remained spiky and unruly as ever. The dapper-ness was mostly from his suit, which was a 'space cadet blue'*-colored three buttoned suit jacket with a stiff high collar that stopped halfway from reaching his chin. The collar had a pair of golden emblem shaped like the letter J and a simple circle on the left and right side respectively. The suit was cut with a V-shaped cleavage opening that reached the upper part of his abdomen, separating the high collar's two sides and showing the partly unbuttoned white dress shirt he wore beneath it.

The middle one of the three golden-coated buttons was actually a circular-shaped buckle of an in-built belt. Its front and back were asymmetrical in that the edges of its front part was only at a halfway point between his hips and his knees while its back had a long coattail that went past his knees a bit, almost reaching his ankles. His wrists were adorned with a pair of golden-tinted metallic bands built onto the suit that made its sleeves' cuffs to puff outward when the bands are tightened, enhancing its elegant look.

To complement the suit, he wore a pair of pants of the same color as the suit that became slightly looser as it went down. It was held together by a belt with a rectangle-shaped buckle with the word 'V' on its front and center. On his feet, he wore a pair of black-colored three-stringed leather shoes. It was clear from its design that it was meant to evoke a feeling of formality along with stylishness and practicality, 'I never knew he had a rather fancy sense of style.'

As June was too focused on her brother, she didn't notice several things. Firstly, the fact that the two girls on Weiss' right were also looking at Jaune and Ozpin's speech, which she mostly tuned out, but she caught some tidbits of it, such as that he thought that most of the freshmen here were bundles of wasted energy and/or potential that needed guidance, and that despite that, it was still up to them to take the next step to improve themselves as the teachers can only do so much for them.

Basically, he advocated taking the initiative in everything, because now, Beacon will teach them how to become Huntsmen, and they won't hold their hands all the way through. June was more than fine with that, after all, it was a lesson taught by her parents.

" _Your mother and I do value the notion of taking the initiative in everything. However, the reason why we wanted you to wait, June, is because you can't rush into things, as people get hurt that way."_

" _And before you say anything about your brother, he did not rush into things. He was_ pushed _by things outside his control. Even his impulsiveness wasn't something that he cultivated on its own. Luckily, he took the initiative very quickly afterwards, and we... well, it's fair to say that we're_ pulled along _by him."_

Considering that becoming a Huntsman was a high risk job, Ozpin urged them to become one not because of external reasons, but intrinsic ones, reasons that came from the heart. At the very least, that's what June took from that.

After that, Glynda took the mic, and the tall, admittedly very beautiful, sexy and yet dangerous-looking woman with an icy glare spoke; **"Your initiation test will begin tomorrow. For tonight, you will be sleeping in the ballroom. Sleeping bags will be provided for you all."**

After a murmur of excitement, anxiety and other sentiment combined from the crowd of freshmen, Glynda continued, **"The belongings we have asked you to send are put in the lockers, the numbers will be given later as you make your way to the ballroom. When you want to take a bath, there is the public shower, and when you want to change clothes, you will do so in the locker room adjacent to the showers, which is unisex, so if you are not comfortable with it, change in the bathrooms, which are** _ **not**_ **unisex."**

Glynda gave everyone a colder look as she said; **"Now that you are here in Beacon, we consider you as adults. As adults, we expect you to behave with maturity, if there is a problem, handle it on your own, but if it's too much, you are allowed to find a teacher to talk to. And as adults, if you happen to do something illegal or if you disturb the peace too much, you will be given proper punishment, up to expulsion if it's severe enough."**

June whistled, 'Beacon doesn't play around... Nice.' She approved. After all, strict regulation like this was expected, and it was nice to hear it.

" **Now, as for tomorrow, at 7 AM sharp, you will go here."** She used her Scroll to show an area at Beacon on the large screens above her, **"It goes without saying that skipping this test will earn you a swift expulsion from Beacon. Do keep in mind that there are teachers assigned to help you when asked but do not go to them for every little things. Only ask them when you really need to. That is all. Dismissed."**

After that, the freshmen exited amphitheater, some went towards the ballroom, some went towards the locker room, some even went directly to the public shower, and the day went on until it became nighttime, during which, a lot of sleeping bags were spread around as the freshmen were preparing to sleep.

June, with her hair having been set loose, was wearing the short-sleeved white t-shirt she had been wearing the whole day and a pair of black sports shorts as she stretched her arms up. "Hmm~?" she moaned out when she saw that Weiss, who was wearing a modest white nightie, was looking at her with slightly narrowed eyes, "What is it, Weiss?"

"...Nothing." she evasively said as she looked down on herself with a pout on her face while she crossed her arms on her flat chest.

From a bit far away, at a corner lit up slightly by a candle, Blake, who was reading a book while dressed in her black yukata, smirked at the white-haired girl's reaction, her ears, though a bit muffled, picked up the envy in the white-haired girl's tone.

Not that she didn't get where Weiss was coming from. Seeing June who was no longer wearing a rather constrictive sports bra was... quite something. Can't say that she didn't _appreciate_ the sight, she did, but at the same time... 'Have to admit... June's even making me a bit jealous.'

"Hm~ she's kinda hot..." Yang, wearing a yellow tank top and a pair of black short shorts mulled out loud, though not _really_ loud, as she looked at the stretching form of June.

"Yaaa~ng! It's not even a day, and you're already checking someone out?" Ruby, wearing a dark red tank top and a pair of black loose slacks asked as she looked up from where she was sitting down, writing a message on her Scroll.

"What? It's like a big slumber party, _everyone_ checks each other out in slumber parties, Ruby." She stated as if it were a known fact before she asked, "So... Now that I know that that shirt was Jaune's... this mystery person you've been talking to these past few days... is it Jaune too?" she asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.

Ruby blushed as she pulled her Scroll close, "W-well, not _right now_ , I was just talking with my friends back at Signal, but... Y-yeah... We also exchanged Scroll numbers, so..."

"...Mind sharing it to me too?" Yang asked as she pulled out her Scroll.

As Ruby gave Jaune's Scroll number, June, who happened to be nearby, happened to hear what they were saying and approached them. Yang, being the first to notice her approaching, greeted her with a smile, "Hey~, can I help you with something?"

"I overheard you saying Jaune... Did you mean Jaune Arc or some other Jaune?" she asked.

Both Ruby and Yang were surprised at how the girl happened to know Jaune's full name. "Well... we only know one Jaune, and his name _is_ Jaune Arc." Yang said, "Why are you asking?"

"Oh, I'm his sister." She said before she extended her hand to Yang and introduced herself, "June Arc, nice to meet you...?"

"...Yang, Yang Xiao Long." Yang dazedly answered as she reciprocated the gesture. In her mind, as she looked over June's taller, built and nicely filled out figure, she thought, 'Man, even his _sister_ is hot too... Is it the Arc gene or something?'

"And you are?" June turned to Ruby who promptly stood up and shook her hand.

"R-Ruby Rose. Yang and I are sisters." She said, "You know, like how you and Jaune are siblings, I'm the younger one, and Yang's the older one."

"Wait, you're younger? How old are you?" June asked, genuinely curious as both of the sisters were freshmen.

"I'm fifteen. Yang here is seventeen." Ruby answered.

"Oh wow, so you're accepted earlier than the others?" June asked with slightly wide eyes, "That's amazing, congratulations."

"Ehehe, thanks..." She answered sheepishly.

"Wow, two years younger than others here..." June remarked, "You must've worked really hard in your previous academy." She said.

"Uh... well... y-you can say that." Was all that Ruby can say, considering how she got here in the first place was definitely _not_ because of her hard work in Signal. "S-so, you're Jaune's sister? H-how old are you?"

"Seventeen, just like the others here. Well, save for you though, Ruby." June answered before she asked, "So how did you meet him?"

"Let's just say that they hit each other on the street." Yang said as she pointed to Ruby, "One thing led to another, and... we know him quite well now." Yang gave Ruby a sideways look and said; "Especially Ruby..."

"Yang...!" her sister blushed as she tried to make Yang stop.

"June, do you know them?" asked Weiss as she approached them.

"No, I heard them saying my brother's name, so I had to check it out." June answered before she gestured to the red-head, "This is Ruby." To which the girl waved and said 'hi', "And this is Yang." She gestured to the blonde with longer, messier hair who simply raised her hand a bit and said 's'up.'.

"Nice to meet you, and did you say _brother?_ " Weiss asked, and from a bit away from them, a certain black bow worn over a certain faunus' ears twitched.

"Yeah, my brother Jaune. You've seen him before at the assembly, the big blonde guy with that cool suit, he's one of the professors here." Answered June.

"Wait, that imposing-looking man is your-?"

She stopped when she saw and heard how the attention of those in the room were turned towards a single point that lied behind her. She looked back and saw two men who had to be the professors walking towards them from the door leading to the room.

One of them was a much older man with a much shorter stature compared to the man beside him, a seemingly perpetually closed eyes and a bushy white mustache that covered his whole mouth, even when he's speaking. With his burgundy double-breasted jacket with gold linings, he contrasted the blonde man's appearance quite starkly.

June could hear everyone murmuring about one of the two men, more specifically, the blonde one. Compared to the one clothed in red, his younger, more conventionally attractive visage, the contour of his muscular body that squeezed a bit against the elegant and stylish suit's fabric and how he was recognized as one of the professors at the podium during Ozpin's speech made him the focus of everyone else in the room.

June, along with the others, watched as he and the other professor walked around, looking at all of them. She smiled as she, instead of remaining on the metaphorical sidelines, walked over behind him, stood on the tip of her toes and covered his eyes with her hands as her lips formed a wide, mischievous-looking smile.

"Ms. Arc." Greeted the man before June removed her hands, prompting him to turn around with crossed arms.

" _Professor_ Arc." She greeted back.

" _Assistant_ Professor." He corrected her.

"Still a professor." June said with a shrug before she grinned widely and hugged him tight, "It's been a _long_ time, brother." She said out loud, heard by those who were looking at them.

Jaune huffed with a fond smile as he reciprocated the gesture and patted her back twice, "A _very_ long time." He agreed before both of them pushed each other gently, "You _do_ realize that I have to be as professional and impartial as I can, don't you?"

"I know." June said with a grin before she stepped back, "Overlook this one. It's been seven years, I think we deserve at least a little hug, don't you think?" she asked before she leaned to his ear and whispered, "And besides, Ozpin's not the kind of headmaster to reprimand you for something like this, right?"

Jaune simply smiled and said; "Looks like both of us have met the same headmaster."

As both brother and sister shared a laugh, a certain short red-head smiled at the sight, "Aw~ They look like they get together well."

"I agree." Said the white-haired girl standing beside her with a nostalgic smile on her face, 'And I know that look on her face too. It seems she idolizes him to a degree...' She thought to herself.

With her golden eyes, Blake looked at the interaction between June and her brother Jaune and couldn't help but to smile as well, 'So even _she_ has someone she relies on... He looks more than dependable enough. And this 'little sister' side of her is... pretty cute, too.'

"Yang, don't you think they look-" Ruby turned to see Yang... quite fixated with the same brother and sister pair they were watching. "Uh... Yang?"

The inner workings of a mind that fed itself quite regularly with questionable contents from the net interpreted the interaction between Jaune and June as something that was... more than appropriately affectionate for a pair of siblings. That is to say, because of how hot Yang considered the two of them were, -and Yang had quite a high standard for both the male and female form-, she began to imagine things.

Yang had quite the active imagination that effectively tuned out everything else as she began to see the Arc siblings in a way that made her shiver a bit in an oh so pleasant manner. 'Man, so unfair... Why do both of them have to be so hot, tall and fit?'

"Yang?"

"W-wha?!" Ruby's hand on her shoulder brought her out of her reverie, "W-what is it, Rubes?"

"Why are you drooling?" she asked.

"Huh? O-oh." Yang quickly wiped off the drool before clearing her throat, "I-I might be a bit thirsty, d-do you have a bottle of water, Rubes?" she asked.

From quite a bit away from the two, a pair of a black-haired boy and a ginger-haired girl looked at Jaune, and the latter said, "Renny, look at him! He's so packed with all those muscles! Do you think he's some sort of superhero? He might be one, he's blonde, blue-eyed, has a god-like physique... Could he be Captain America?"

"I thought it was Captain Vale?" 'Renny' asked the girl, "And even then, Nora, superheroes are fictional." He went silent for a moment as he looked at Jaune before he added, "Though he _does_ have the body of one." He had to admit as much.

At another spot, a girl who was removing the hairband that kept her hair in a high ponytail style was one of the many who were watching the blonde professor and student interacting. 'Hm... it looks rather nice.' She thought as her red hair came loose, 'Having someone to talk to so freely... I wish I had a brother or sister like that.'

Pyrrha Nikos sighed as she prepared her sleeping bag, 'Well... here's hoping that I gain a friend like that here. Otherwise, this will be like Sanctum all over again...'

* * *

 _The day after..._

"So... did your brother tell you what this test's going to be?" asked Weiss in a hopeful tone as she walked alongside June towards the locker room.

"No. And even if he were willing to, I won't ask." June said with an amused smile, "Even if he's my brother, he's still a professor, you know? He's giving his best to be a professional too, so there's no way he's going to tell us."

"Well... it was worth asking." Weiss said, "I have to admit, your brother cuts an impressive figure. He stands out even when he's with Glynda Goodwitch and Ozpin. How long has he been an assistant professor here?"

"Well... about a couple of months or so." June answered, prompting a look of surprise from Weiss, "He's a recent hire. Our parents, sisters and I were quite surprised when he told us that he's hired here, I mean... He's not that much older than me."

'He _does_ look pretty young compared to the others...' thought Weiss before she asked, "How old is he?"

"Eighteen." June answered as they reached the locker room. She entered while Weiss was stopped in her tracks by the answer. Behind her, a certain faunus masquerading as a normal human stopped as well when she heard it.

"Wait, he's EIGHTEEN?!" Weiss yelled as she chased June back, with Blake following closely, but not by much so as to avoid detection. Both of them were equally surprised and intrigued by the revelation. "H-he doesn't _look_ eighteen!"

"Well, do _I_ look seventeen?" June asked while gesturing to all of her.

She stood at six feet tall with quite the figure to be appreciated, and both Weiss and Blake mentally agreed that she looked a bit older than most people her age. "It's the genes, our parents are also tall." June explained.

Weiss huffed as she looked at June with more than a little bit of envy. Some people just had _all_ the luck to win the genetic lottery. Though she was the same age as June was, she wasn't as... filled in her figure, especially at the chest and hips. Hearing the sound of quiet giggling, she looked back only to see a familiar bow sneaking behind a pillar, out of sight in an instant, but Weiss knew who it was and scowled while growling as she walked towards where the bow disappeared to.

Meanwhile, June had opened her locker and was arming herself with Crocea Mors when a streak of red hair was visible on her peripheral vision. She turned right and saw a redhead girl with red and gold Mistralian-influenced ensemble arming herself with a shield and what seemed to be a rifle in its compacted form.

The redhead noticed June looking and said; "Oh, hello." She greeted with a smile.

"Hello." June greeted back with the same welcoming smile before she extended her hand and said; "June Arc. What's your name?"

She saw how for a moment, the redhead seemed to be taken aback before a bright smile formed on her face as she reciprocated the gesture and said; "Pyrrha, Pyrrha Nikos."

"Pyrrha Nikos?" June asked, the name sounded familiar, "You're from Mistral?"

The way she asked the question seemed to make Pyrrha even happier somehow. "Yes, I am. I'm from the south-eastern part of the kingdom, hence..." she gestured to all of her and the weapon she was carrying on her back.

"I can see that." June responded. "I'm from... well, it's a bit out in The Wilds, a rather small community to say the least, so I'm sure you haven't heard of it."

"Oh. Well, may I know its name anyway?" Pyrrha asked.

Seeing how genuinely curious she was, June smiled as she answered, "It's a little village called Hamlet."

Pyrrha's smile turned into a short laugh, "I-Isn't the name kind of redundant?" she asked, referring to the name of the 'little village'.

June simply shrugged and said; "Hey, blame the first mayor who named it. It had quite a long history, so maybe hamlet meant something different back then."

Both Pyrrha and June laughed together for a moment before June looked around to find where Weiss was, only to find her in a rather tense conversation with Blake. "Oh boy... A-anyway, it's nice to meet you Pyrrha. I have to uh..." she pointed her thumb at Blake and Weiss.

"Oh. It's alright, go ahead, June." She assured June.

"Right. Good luck with the test!" was June's parting words.

"You too!" Pyrrha returned it back as she fixed her gaze at the blonde girl who was unaware of the attention she had gotten. The redhead's green eyes conveyed an emotion known as desire, that is, the desire to become closer to the girl who did not know who she was and treated her just like any other person.

'June Arc... It'd be great if we're to be partners.' She thought to herself.

* * *

 _Later on.._

On the cliff overlooking Emerald Forest, all the freshmen were gathered. Looking at all of them were the headmaster and the deputy headmistress of Beacon as they stood in front of pads lined up on the cliff's edge, their backs facing Emerald Forest.

June noticed how Ozpin was still dressed in his green-themed suit and carrying the mug containing a steamy hot coffee while Glynda looked mostly the same but she seemed to be wearing a longer black corset-skirt that almost reached her ankles with a pair of slits on its right and left sides which showed her black stockings.

"Morning. Glad to see that you are all punctual." Ozpin began, "Today you are going to take your initiation test. However, in addition to that, you will also take your team placement test." Ozpin revealed, "How you will be put into teams is this: Your partner will be the first person you make eye contact with during the test."

Instantly there were a lot murmurs of discontent. It was clear that they were being thrown out of their comfort zone by literally forcing them the possibility of being paired with strangers. Weiss, Blake and a certain red-haired girl from Mistral immediately turned to June, Yang grinned at how unorthodox the test was while Ruby looked a bit discomforted by the idea.

Ozpin looked at Glynda, who simply clapped, creating a resounding noise that was somehow loud enough to echo and forced the others to go silent, "Disregarding that for a second, the test will be used as a way to evaluate your capability, and you shall do so... in the Emerald Forest."

Ozpin proceeded to do a sweeping gesture that showed the expansive forest that stretched before them, below the cliff they were standing on. It was a pale copy of The Wilds of Remnant, a truly appropriate place for Huntsmen-to-be, "Now please stand on the pads."

They all did as told before Ozpin continued, "You are tasked to traverse the forest, find the temple located on the other end and obtain a relic. The forest still has a sizable population of Grimm compared to the current situation in Remnant's Wilderness, so if you face one or more, you are authorized to kill them, the way you do so will also be evaluated and graded."

Ozpin took a sip of the coffee from his mug before he said with a tiny smirk, "I hope you all have a landing strategy."

Without any further warning, the pads began to catapult the students one by one very quickly. Some were screaming in terror as they were sent flying, some were yelling out of excitement, some even laughed, particularly a certain tiny ginger-haired girl equipped with a rather large war-hammer.

When the cliff's edge was finally empty of freshmen, Ozpin opened his Scroll to access the cameras located within the forest. "I never thought I'd say this, but I was glad that the Grimm in Emerald Forest wasn't completely extinguished by Jaune." Glynda said.

"Most of them _did_ run away from him." Ozpin reminded her before he turned and gazed at her with curiosity apparent in his eyes, "So... how does it feel having a Mantle?"

"It's... different." Glynda answered, " _Everything_ feels different. I suppose it's because of what my Semblance is and how it's metamorphosed... But even when it's just a Semblance, I've never felt... so in touch with the environment, the people... almost _everything_ is in my grasp."

Ozpin gave her a faint smile and said; "Must be quite the experience."

Glynda smiled and said; "In a way." She turned to Ozpin and said; "Considering I no longer need to use Scrolls for this kind of situation, I'd say it's a considerable boon." she shook her head and added, "I never thought my Semblance is able to become even more powerful than it already was, but... I guess I was wrong. _Really_ wrong."

Ozpin shared Glynda's sentiment. Considering Jaune's immense physical power and Glynda's _vastly_ augmented telekinesis, Mantle was truly like a WMD compared to how Semblance was like a handgun, incomparable in sheer scale and scope.

He cast his eyes towards the forest for a moment and thought, 'Very well then, Jaune... let's see who you will end up picking from these potential Huntsmen.'

From far away, the figure of one Jaune Arc was staring at the Scroll he had on his hand which showed the flying students. 'June and Yang are the most likely ones... Still, I wonder who the others will be?' he wondered to himself as an outline of a white cape seemed to shimmer behind him.

Unbeknownst to the freshmen, two initiation test were being held at the same time. One was the standard initiation test for Beacon freshmen that will also determine their partners and teams for four years... And the other was the secret initiation test, known only by Beacon's teaching staff and Ozpin.

A test to see who among them would be given a Mantle.

* * *

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 ***It's a real color, the darkest shade of blue that I could find, google it if you're curious.  
**

 **Ah, the initiation test. I'm splitting this into two parts because I want this chapter to solely focus on the whole beginning of it, a breather episode so to speak, considering all the body horror depiction with Nox I had you all endure in the previous chapter.**


	10. Welcome to Hunting School! Part 2

**Disclaimer:** I don't own RWBY, it was created by Monty Oum and is owned by Rooster Teeth.

* * *

He walked away without looking back. Into the wilderness he went in the dark of night, seemingly without a care in the world, but his eyes showed the degree of determination he possessed. It was time for him to leave, the calling from his heart kept telling him to go out, do something now that you had enough to start with.

He had steeled his heart, his will was strong. Leaving them behind was something that he had envisioned himself doing for quite a while now, yet despite that, his feet felt somewhat heavy. Though he carried on, it didn't stop making every one of his steps feel as if he was dragging a large steel ball and chain on each foot.

Neither trying to ignore or forget the fact that he had left his home, Jaune kept on going, leaving his parents and his sisters behind... For the sake of fulfilling his desire.

When the sun came up from the eastern horizon, June woke up to the sounds of distress from a lot of people in the house. With a frown that was half from her still sleepy and the other half from her being concerned, she pushed herself up from her bed.

Once she got out of her bedroom, she saw how some of her sisters were crowding right outside Jaune's room. "...Rouge? Stella? What's everyone doing outside of Jaune's room?"

The second youngest of the sisters, Rouge, looked very panicky as she said; "J-Jaune... he's gone."

In that moment, June was filled with fear, "...What do you mean?" she asked, not really comprehending what Rouge said. "Where is-?" she then began to run over to the door before the pigtailed haired Stella stopped her.

"Mom and dad are... searching the room right now. Let's wait a bit." Her pig-tailed haired sister said, her green eyes unfocused.

Moments later, both her parents stepped out, her father carrying a torn out page of a notebook and both of them looked devastated, saddened. "Mom, dad, what happened? Where's Jaune?" she asked.

"...Family meeting. Right now. Stella, call your older sisters, tell them to come, but if they can't, tell them to use their Scrolls for a conference call." Her father ordered.

The seriousness in his tone of voice compelled Stella to immediately act while June just... stared in slight disbelief. Why? Why did her brother leave?

There had to be a reason. There had to be.

It took at least an hour later until everyone were gathered in the dining room. Those who weren't able to come for one reason or another were gathered through her father's Scroll with a conference call.

"Jaune left?!" the tomboyish Sylvia with short spiky blonde hair yelled as she banged the table with her palms, "How?! Why?!" she asked.

"Sylvia, let-let's calm down." Said the emerald-shade green eyed Cora as she gently touched the back of Sylvia's hand, though one could easily see that she was shaken, "Dad, I see you have a note there... Is it from Jaune?"

" _A note? What's it say?!"_ yelled out the eldest, Mera, from the conference call as she was in her apartment far away.

Their father sighed as he read the letter.

 _To whoever is reading this: I've left home. I'm sorry, but I feel that I must do this. I'm sorry for leaving you all behind, I know how this must hurt you, but I'm compelled to do this. To use what I have now to do something. I'm going out to The Wilds. Please don't expect me to return for a long time._

 _I love you dad, mom, sis... But I'm sorry. I have to do this._

 _Jaune._

There was a long silence then, which was broken when Luna, who was staying at a friend's house at another town, yelled out _"Are you fricking kidding me?!"_

" _Luna!"_ yelled Mera, the eldest, who was on a business and thus is unable to be there physically as well.

" _No Mera, don't 'Luna' me! Our idiot of a brother left home because he wants to go out into The Wilds, don't you 'Luna' me!"_

"Our brother is going to The Wilds?!" yelled Sylvia in sheer disbelief.

"Oh no... what was he thinking?!" Cora shouted in horror.

"What's he trying to do there?! Even if he's been training, that doesn't mean that he can just go out there! He's not even a real Huntsman!" yelled Stella.

"No... no no no no no, Jaune, why did you... Why...?!" Rouge uttered in confusion as she he partly covered her mouth with her hand.

Pretty soon, it all devolved into a massive ruckus. The ones who were silent were their parents, who just took it all in silence and an aura of gloom that enveloped the two of them while June was silent... because she was being thoughtful.

Her memory of what happened a few days back, of him carrying her on his arms, returned in full force. She remembered the question she asked him and his answer to it.

" _Brother, why have you been going out to the wilderness lately?"_

" _I was... testing myself."_

" _Testing?"_

" _Yes. I've been training for quite a long time now, and I want to see how far I've come and how well I can perform in real combat situations against Grimm."_

" _...Oh. You're acting like a Huntsman."_

" _More or less."_

" _But why?"_

" _Let's just say that... I want to prepare myself for the future."_

It seemed that he meant a _very near_ future. Looking back, it was a great foreshadowing, one that she had dismissed as nothing more than a cryptic answer. June frowned, unhappy with how her brother just up and left them so selfishly, but at the same time...

'He wants to fight the Grimm... It's not a bad reason to leave, and he's strong enough, so I think I don't need to be worried.' She thought before she added, 'And even though I wanted to come along, I'm... still very weak. I'd be a dead weight.'

She and her brother understood each other quite well, perhaps more than they understood their other sisters and vice-versa. June knew that Jaune was as hard-headed as, if not more than she was, so he must've planned to leave for quite a while.

Because if _she_ were to do such a thing, she wouldn't even let the idea out from her head before she was ready to do it like Jaune just did, assuring that no one in their family knew that he was going to leave. And she understood the drive, the motivation he had to use what he had to do something he wanted to do.

So with a resigned sigh, she thought to herself, 'Brother... I guess I'll forgive you this one time.' She had her aspiration, he had his, and she knew both of them would do anything to see it fulfilled. Right now, her brother was fulfilling his, it'd be wrong for her to call him out for something she herself would've done.

"We have to make missing posters, like right now!" she heard her sister Sylvia exclaiming, breaking her out of her reverie.

"We also have to report his disappearance, can you call the mayor, dad, mom?" asked Cora.

" _Fuck that, go borrow some hellhounds from the nearest canine compound and track him down while the trail's still warm!"_ Luna advised from the conference call.

" _Everyone, please calm down, this is not helping!"_ Mera, the eldest, tried to bring back order.

"Mom, dad, let's go out and try to find him." Said Rouge calmly but with a sense of urgency, "We can get our bikes, we might catch him before he got too far."

Both Arthur and Jeanne still looked rather despondent, much more devastated by Jaune's departure due to reasons that none of their children could comprehend. To them, it meant that Jaune was walking the path that their mother Jeanne once walked, the path of short-sighted zealousness that led her to abandon _her_ own parents.

Looking over at the ruckus his departure had caused made June realize something: 'They don't know that he can actually take care of himself...!' she steeled herself before she stood up and banged her hands on the table and shouted...

"EVERYONE CALM DOWN!"

Her shout actually managed to do just that before she cleared her throat and said, "Our brother will be fine! He can take care of himself!"

"...Wait-"

"WHAT?!" was the sound of her sisters yelling at her, and in front of her, both her parents were looking at her as if she had grown a second head.

"Okay, listen." June began, "I know you guys are worried about him. I know you're scared for him, but he'll be fine." She stated before she raised her hand to stop them from interrupting, "Our brother is strong. He's strong like you wouldn't believe. He can throw a mean punch, he's calm under pressure, it takes him a long time to get tired, he's _amazing_."

She then turned to her parents and said; "Brother's strong. A _lot_ stronger than you might think he is. He's going to be fine. I've seen him fight, I saw him _winning_ those fights, I know he will be alright out there. Please, just believe in him like I do."

It was the last sentence that did it. They could see how much she believed in Jaune, and it was... stunning, to say the least. The devotion, the faith, the trust she had in him was something that gently squeezed the hearts of the others who saw it.

To Arthur and Jeanne, what she said was the soothing elixir that they were seeking for their hearts. Believe in Jaune like June did, the June who trusted her brother so much and looked up to him to support his decision...

Maybe that's what they needed to do. However, for June to say such a thing must meant that she had seen something.

"June... What fights did you see Jaune do and win?" asked their mother pointedly as she narrowed her eyes at June.

Facing the full brunt of her parents and sisters' gaze with a wide, proud grin on her face, June then said; "Well, there was this time a couple days ago when I followed Jaune as he went into the forest..."

* * *

 **Welcome to Hunting School! Part 2**

* * *

When she was launched, June did not scream, neither out of delight nor terror, June simply stayed silent as she looked around her. Up and down, left and right, she assessed her surroundings and situation to see how far she could and/or should go.

She positioned herself like a flying bird with arms and legs spread before she summoned her force field a few millimeters above her skin and shaped them as if she was mimicking the outline of a flying squirrel. The end result was that she began to glide freely as if she was wearing a real wingsuit.

'Easiest way to do it, _and_ also the most obvious.' She thought to herself, looking around to see those who were not lucky enough to have such a versatile Semblance were either using their weapons or were just curling themselves into a fetal position and hoped for the best.

Thanks to her Semblance, she flew farther than everyone else. It suited her fine though, the temple might be deep in the forest after all. She continued her glide until she heard a whistling sound from behind, and it was slowly getting closer and closer.

Looking back, she saw an object fast approaching her. It was bronze and red and had quite a sharp tip. She kept her eyes on it, watched it as it came closer and closer before she tipped her body left a bit as it was about to reach her and then tipped back to the right and grabbed it in quick succession.

To her surprise, it seemed to fight her hold for a moment before it suddenly calmed down. 'This is... that girl's weapon, isn't it?' she thought as she looked back, only to find no one behind her, 'What's her deal...? Hm?'

She saw that there was a small piece of paper wrapped on the shaft and she knew then why Pyrrha did it, 'A message, huh?' she asked rhetorically before she decided to glide downward, landing on a small clearing, free from the thick canopy, allowing a large amount of the sunlight to pierce through.

Turning off the force field now that she no longer need to use it, June then turned her attention to the weapon she grabbed out of the air, more specifically the note wrapped on its hilt. Opening it, she read the message written within.

 _Please hold on to this and wait, I'm coming for it._

 _-Pyrrha Nikos_

Inwardly, June grinned at the audacity of the girl's plan. 'Well, Ozpin never said that having a plan to meet someone they want instead of leaving it to chance is not allowed.' She thought to herself before she pocketed the note and decided to wait for the red-headed girl.

It took quite a while before the Mistralian girl popped up with a smile and waved at June, "Hello again."

'...Whoa, a bit of deja vu there.' June thought before she replied, "Hello to you too." She then slightly lifted the weapon thrown at her as she approached her, "Here's your weapon. Couldn't lose it during the test now, can you?"

Pyrrha covered her mouth with her hand and giggled, "Yes, it would be bad indeed." She agreed before she retrieved her weapon back from June's extended hand, "Thank you." She said so innocently, though her eyes betrayed her mischief, "So... I guess this makes us partners."

"Yup." June said before she asked; "So, do you have any idea where to go, Pyrrha?"

"Well, I think we should go deeper into the forest, but I don't know the exact way." Pyrrha said to her. "I might've been... a bit distracted." She admitted sheepishly.

"Hm..." June crossed her arms and looked down at the ground for a moment before she nodded and without warning, jumped up _really_ high past the trees and into the sky before she jumped _again_ to gain more height.

Each time she used her feet, Pyrrha saw a thin film of blue light covering them, indicating that she used her Semblance. 'Force field generation? It seems very versatile...' she thought to herself.

Moments later, June came crashing down feet first right in front of Pyrrha and said; "Alright, if the cliff we came from is one of the forest's ends, the other is that-a-way." She pointed to the direction behind them, "Let's go, Pyrrha."

She nodded and followed the blonde girl closely. A keen mind to check the surroundings _and_ what could possibly be a _very_ versatile Semblance, traits of a prodigy. To Pyrrha however, they were all simply secondary to the primary reason why she chose her to be her partner...

She could be anything other than an idolized warrior put on a pedestal with her. So with light, feathery steps, she followed June, glad to be her partner.

* * *

 _On another place in the forest..._

Weiss huffed as she walked through another bush. 'I'm sure she went here somewhere...' she thought to herself, trying to find June whom she had focused on during her flight. 'Or was she...? Darn it, am I lost?'

Considering that she didn't check where she landed and only focused on where June was, she was indeed right. She went quite far, but it didn't matter when she couldn't find her way to anywhere. 'Shoot... I was really hoping that we can-'

"Damn it."

Hearing a deadpan voice claiming that made Weiss turn... and she saw someone she'd rather not see. She was half-tempted to just close her eyes and walk away, but she couldn't do that when the golden-eyed girl in front of her was glaring at her and she did not want to lose the impromptu competition.

Still, the whole situation was made even more complicated due to the fact that, now they had seen each other, they were now partners.

Both of them sighed at the same time, prompting them to stop mid-way and looked at the other with narrowed eyes, as if the other had just done something incredibly, unforgivably aggravating. "Well..." Weiss began as she crossed her arms, "It looks like we are partners."

"...So it seems." The girl, Blake, replied back with a dead, flat tone of voice.

"I suppose both of us want to be the partner of a... certain blonde." Weiss stated again, to which Blake only raised one of her eyebrow, as if stating that it should be obvious, "But clearly that's not what happened here."

The two of them fell into a long moment of silence again before Weiss said; "Listen, I have been taught to always make compromise whenever I must. So for now, let's just... unite ourselves under a common goal, what do you say?"

Inwardly, Blake couldn't help but to say, 'Compromise, what do you know about compromise when your father's company never do that in regards to the rights of Faunus kind?' she thought to herself before she stopped.

United under a common goal... She could admit that she understood _that_ at least. The many different groups of faunus-centered movement that would later become the White Fang were made of divisions that were focused on very different things.

Some were 'freedom fighters' types, those who fought back against discrimination by protesting or even rioting when possible. Some were 'saboteurs', those who freed captive faunus and/or sabotage the system that enslaved them by espionage, infiltration and so on. Some were 'angels', those who provide relief, sustenance and other daily necessities to faunus who lived in poverty or were disenfranchised.

All of them were united under a common goal: To help the Faunus kind. Despite their differences, they recognized that they wanted the same thing and united under the banner of White Fang, decentralized but united.

Of course, the compromise fell apart when the 'freedom fighters' and the 'saboteurs' became more and more extreme with their methods and their pure goals were corrupted with hate until suddenly, the common goal changed from helping Faunus kind to destroying Human kind, and those who had moderate views, most of them coming from the 'angels'' side, either left or were exiled, and thus White Fang became the terrorist organization it was now.

From this, Blake learned an important lesson: Compromise under a goal is good, but when its goal was too vague, differences in views will become even more pronounced over time and will lead to corruption and even fragmentation. Right now though, the goal that she and the Schnee needed to achieve was simple and straightforward.

Go to the temple at the other end of the forest, get the relic and return back to Beacon. For now, she will have to work with her. She didn't have to like it _or_ her, but she'll have to do it.

A new life, a new Blake. She had to keep on moving if she wanted to make good of what she promised herself: She vowed to become a better person now that she was out of the terrorist group that the White Fang had become.

Seeing Adam when she was no longer in his inner circle, how he acted, the belief that he had about how to 'help' faunus, how quickly he came to hate her by straying away from him and the brand of White Fang he led, it all brought about a degree of objectivity that allowed her to see how far White Fang has fallen from grace with greater clarity, even more so than when she saw its corruption from within.

"Deal." Blake said with a nod.

"Good." Weiss said with a reciprocating nod, "Now, let's go to the temple, follow me."

When Blake noticed where the girl was going, she asked her, "Do you _know_ where to go?"

It halted the white-haired girl on her tracks before she turned and said, "Of _course_ I know where to go!" she yelled in a rather indignant manner, as if Blake had offended her so. "I'll have you know that I'm more than capable to-"

"The temple's that way." Blake told her while pointing at a direction that was ninety-degrees leftward from where Weiss was.

Blake watched Weiss' face went red before she said; "H-how do you know that?"

"I paid attention to my surroundings while I was flying." Blake answered smoothly, "Follow _me,_ Ms. Schnee." She said with a smug smirk.

Weiss, not used to being ordered by someone else other than her father or sister, fumed for a while and yelled, "D-don't look so smug, you... smug woman!"

Despite that, Weiss followed Blake regardless, proving that she indeed did not know the way.

* * *

 _With a certain pair of sisters..._

"ORAORAORA!" the sound of a battle cry and repeated shots discharged from a pair of shotgun-gauntlets echoed as Yang pummeled an Ursa with her gauntlet covered fists. With explosive power of her gauntlet and her strength, the Ursa stood no chance in winning.

On the other side, Ruby was moving between three Beowolves with Crescent Rose, her silver eyes focused and her face grim. After Yang finished her beating on the Ursa, she turned back, looked at Ruby... and saw how different she was behaving.

Her sister had a look of anger, not the passionate, burning anger Yang knew very well, but a focused one, filled with frustration and a trace of a bad memory that Yang knew nothing about. She was using her emotions to fuel her movements.

Ruby finished up her fight very quickly, opting to render the Beowolves helpless first by cutting off their legs before performing the final blow that decisively ended them, by slicing off their heads. A precise brutality combined with a visage of coldness that... didn't seem like her in Yang's opinion.

Silently, Ruby let Crescent Rose's long handle rest on her the back of her neck and looked at the dispersing Grimm particles with a frown on her face. They were no match for her, she felt powerful facing them, she knew she _was_ strong, yet she couldn't help but to be reminded of how... _weak_ and _powerless_ she was against that Lucy.

 _Every cut, every bite, every tear felt like they were done by a predator seeking her flesh to be devoured, and then she saw with wide eyes as her enemy did just that, despite looking very much human as herself._

The sheer horror at seeing your flesh, freshly taken by sheer force, being eaten raw by another human being was... scarring, to say the very least. With a slightly shaky deep breath, she calmed herself before she turned to Yang and walked past her, "Let's go find the temple..."

"Ruby, hold on." She had to stop her there, but when she didn't, she opted to follow her closely. "What... was that? I've never seen you fight like that before."

Ruby didn't stop and asked her sister, "Like what?"

"Like... It's like you were possessed." Yang said, "You always enjoy using your weapon no matter what the situation is, but back there... It's like you're just out to kill them."

"...I was fast, wasn't I?" Ruby asked.

"...Well, yeah that was fast, three Beowolves all dead in three seconds flat, faster than your previous record by three seconds, even." Yang had to admit that as unnerving as that was, it was quite impressive.

"Then good." Ruby said, "That means I'm improving. I was... testing myself. And isn't the Headmaster watching our progress?"

"...Oh right, we _are_ getting evaluated by how we kill the Grimm too." Yang muttered in realization, "Still, they had to give out points for style too, right?" she asked rhetorically.

"Maybe." Ruby answered with a shrug, "Still, let's just find the temple and get the relic, sis."

"...Sure." Yang stated though it was clear that she was still worried by Ruby's behavior. She remembered how, on that day, her sister's clothes were quite tattered and messed up. She knew something must've happened, but her sister's resistance to her question dissuaded her from questioning her further.

Though she had been rather normal at home, now that she was thrown into a situation where they had to fight when provoked by the Grimm, she was seeing more changes to Ruby's personality and demeanor. In a fight, she had become more... methodical and pragmatic, swift and somewhat brutal.

'I don't know what happened, but I don't like this... Why can't you just trust me, Rubes? What happened that changed you so much?'

Could this be that angsty period in one's teenage years that people told her about? She herself didn't even have that kind of phase! ...Well, there was that one little thing that she didn't really let go of, but that's something else entirely.

With both of them being preoccupied with the task at hand their minds were elsewhere, they failed to notice something _big_ creeping up behind them. It was following them stealthily as its red eyes watched over them...

* * *

 _With June and Pyrrha..._

"Ah, there's the temple." June stated as she pointed to the ruin, "And those must be the relics... Still, are we the first ones here?" she asked as she looked around, finding no one else in the area but herself and Pyrrha.

"I think so. The relics has not been taken yet." Pyrrha said as the two of them walked closer to the ruin of what once must've been a temple of worship.

Before them were 'relics', as Ozpin had stated. However, instead of artifacts of old that had a value due to what it's made and/or _how_ it's made, they were different chess pieces of varying colors, black-and-gold pair of chess pieces with only two pawns for each color.

"So... which one do you want to get for us?" June asked Pyrrha.

"Hm... How about we wait for other partners to get here?" Pyrrha asked, "I'm assuming that our four-man team will be chosen based by the piece we take, so... It might sound a bit dishonest, but... It would allow us to know who we'd want."

"Ah, good thinking, good thinking." June said with a nod, "It might be a bit under-handed, but it's a valid plan." She commended her partner as she went to a nearby pillar surrounding the temple, sat down with her back leaned on it and patted the empty spot on her right, "Sit with me, c'mon."

Pyrrha's small smile did not fully convey the degree of happiness that she was feeling as she sat beside June, her heart beating faster than normal.

"So, tell me some things about you." June said. "Who's Pyrrha Nikos, what does she like and why she's here, all that stuff."

"Well..." Such a novel feeling, being asked about who she was, what she likes and things that many others took for granted. "I'm a Huntress-in-training, just like you... I like... to spar in my free time, and I'm here to improve my skills to become a real Huntress." She said, omitting many, _many_ things about her that she did not want June to know. At least not yet.

"Alright then, my turn." June said, "I like..." she thought about it for a couple of seconds before an image popped up in her head: Blonde hair like her own but blue eyes instead of green, a smile that would either soothe her, make her excited or even smile back without a clear reason why other than seeing it made her want to do it.

"I..." she blushed as she cast her head down, "I like... to train too, and uh.. other stuff." She said to Pyrrha, who wondered what June could be thinking about to react in such a way, "And uh, I'm here to become a real Huntress too." She continued as her blush subsided a bit before she decided to go with a bit of truth, "I want to see if I'm as capable as my brother now."

Her brother, she said... And that look on her face... She knew that look, she had seen it from other people so many times before. "You idolize your brother, don't you?" Pyrrha asked.

"A... a bit, yeah." June said bashfully, trying to understate the notion. "It's normal, I mean he's my big brother, the strongest person I know save for my parents." She rationalized before she decided to change the subject, "So what about you? Do you have someone you idolize as well?"

"Not really." Pyrrha answered, 'If anything, it's the opposite.' She thought, reminded of how, because of her status as an accomplished prodigy who had received achievements and accolades in her homeland, she was the target for idolization by many. "I don't... like the idea of idolizing someone."

"Oh? Why not?" June asked.

"It puts them on a pedestal, and... in a way, it is quite dehumanizing." She answered, letting out a bit of her bitterness out, "I'd rather see people as people." She stated simply, "No matter who they are, how good they are in a fight or certain things that makes them famous, they're still... people, you know?"

"Hm. I get that." June agreed, "But I'm not putting my brother on a pedestal, I don't worship him or anything like that, but I do think _very_ highly of him." She said, "He's a self-made man who can be very stubborn and selfish, but... very loving and kind too." She described him, "I guess you can call that idolizing him, but it's the kind that... makes me want to be at his side instead of watching from afar."

Once again, Pyrrha's heart seemed to beat faster again at that statement. She idolized her brother, yet she also wanted to stand beside him... She did not put him on a pedestal, she regarded him as a point she wanted to get to. All this time, she only knew the kind of idolization that put people on a pedestal, a figure who is seen as and demanded to be perfect.

She couldn't help but wonder what would happen if she had met a fan of hers like June, and also couldn't help but to be a bit jealous of her brother. Perhaps she wouldn't be as jaded with her own reputation as she was now.

'Maybe I could talk with her brother too...' she thought to herself, 'She seems to hold him in a really high degree, but... I wonder if he's as good as she claims?' she wondered, curious as to whether or not the assistant professor matched June's view or, like she experienced with her own fans, her partner severely exaggerated his good points.

The only thing she knew objectively about him was his physique. Even when covered in a sit, his body's muscular contour was quite impressive. That, and that he was quite attractive. Other than those things and June's view of him, she knew nothing else. 'I'll go do that later.' She promised to herself.

The moment of silence was broken when they heard a very loud noise coming from the side of the forest across from them. It prompted them to stand up and ready themselves for the incoming Grimm, Pyrrha switched her javelin into its rifle form while June brought out her sword.

The cacophony of noises that came from within the forest became louder and louder with each passing second until finally... Two figures came out, a black-haired young man in green-black-and-white ensemble carried/pulled along by his waist on the arm of a much smaller ginger-haired girl with prominently white and black ensemble with dashes of pink, most prominently on her skirt.

"Out of the way! Out of the way!" the girl carrying a rather large war-hammer yelled, though judging by the ecstatic look on her face, it was not out of fear, but excitement, "The spider's here!"

"Spi-?" June stopped when she realized what the girl meant, "An Arachne."

A moment later, a gigantic spider-shaped Grimm burst out of the forest, 10 feet/3 meters tall from the top of its large abdomen to its legs and 25 feet/7.6 meters long spider, a horrifying, screeching monstrosity of black, white and red with thick eight legs and slightly furred bodies and eight dead-looking black eyes, like the eyes of a doll, were focused on the girl who was running away with the boy

"Aim at its eyes, Pyrrha! Distract it!" June ordered before she charged as Pyrrha took a few shots aimed at the spider's eyes, hitting one on her first shot before it quickly wised up and moved in a zig-zag pattern, avoiding Pyrrha's every other shot. June went past the deceptively strong petite girl and coated her sword with her force field as the spider Grimm screeched at the approaching blonde.

Now that she had become its target, June struck. A swift diagonal swish of her blade sent a sharp-edged wave of her forcefield that immediately slashed the spider's face, creating a quite deep diagonal wound on its face that blinded at least three of its eyes and caused it to screech in agony.

June was still charging though, as she coated her sword again with force field and delivered a slash that cut off one of its left plated legs. While it was unbalanced, she immediately moved to another one of its legs and slashed it off too.

Pyrrha, who had changed her weapon into a short sword form and equipped her shield on her other hand, charged as she went to the spider's right side, "Hiyah!" and cut off one of its right legs with a yell.

Before the Arachne could even retaliate, it was distracted by the sound of an explosion, followed by a yell that signalled an incoming attack... from above, in the form of the strong petite girl lifting her white and pink warhammer with a glee evident on her face as she yelled out, "TASTE MY MAGNHILD, SPIDEY!"

The hammer hit the spider's head, caving it in and sending it crashing down.

June and Pyrrha quickly dashed back out of the way, saving themselves from being weighed by thousands of pounds worth of Arachne. However, while Pyrrha stayed where she ended up, June, aided by her Semblance, quickly jumped up high and yelled, "GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

"SURE THING!" As if she knew June was referring to her, the much smaller girl leaped far back as June stabbed the Arachne's head with a sword coated with her forcefield and to make sure, she twisted the sword's angle, causing it to twitch before she went beyond double tapping as she lifted up her left hand coated in her force field, slammed it down to Crocea Mors' pommel, rendering it as a channel to send it right inside the Arachne's head...

And it turned into a quickly expanding sphere that completely obliterated its head inside out.

June landed on the ground that the Arachne's head used to occupy, puffing out air as a show of relief. She then looked around and saw the look of surprise from Pyrrha and the gleeful look from the smaller ginger-haired girl.

"That. Was. AWESOME!" the girl exclaimed before she was suddenly in front of June and shaking her hand, "Hi! I'm Nora Valkyrie, and that right there, is my friend Lie Ren!" she pointed at the slowly approaching black-haired boy who waved at them, "We're together, but not together-together, you know, we've known each other for a long time, we're the best of friends and now we're partners! What's your name?"

"...I'm June Arc." She introduced herself with an indulgent smile directed at Nora before she turned to Pyrrha and prompted her to say...

"I'm Pyrrha Nikos." Said the Mistralian girl as her hand was immediately taken into Nora's, "I-it's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too! Ren, come on, say hello to them!" Nora said to the boy with a pink highlight on a few strands of his black hair who was now right beside her.

"Hi." Was the way he greeted them, calm, subdued and controlled. He was literally her polar opposite. "Thank you for your help. Have you taken any of the relic yet?"

"Nope." June answered before she said; "We've been waiting for another pair of partners to show up actually." She said with complete honesty.

"Ah." Ren nodded, immediately understood what June implied. "Are we the partners you were hoping for?" he asked a bit cheekily, though one could hardly tell that from how he carried himself.

"Well..." June looked at Nora, who tilted her head a bit with a smile and grinned as she said; "If you're as good as Nora here with her Magnhild as you do with your own weapon, you'll have no complaints from us." She said, "That, and you two have known each other long enough to be comfortable around each other and work together. It's an easy choice."

Ren simply smiled while Nora was grinning in glee. Pyrrha looked at June and couldn't help but to feel that she had made the right choice for a partner. She was truly glad that she chose to go to Beacon to complete her Huntress training. 'I already have a better time here than I did in Sanctum.' She could be herself, away from her image as an idolized Champion.

"Right, let's get the pieces then, shall we?" asked June as she walked at a leisurely pace towards the relics, with Pyrrha, Ren and Nora following closely behind her.

The assembled four looked at all the chess pieces set up on their respective pedestals. "So... a team is decided by having two groups of partners choosing the same pair?" Ren asked.

"Well, in that case, I think I'll pick this one." June said as she took a gold tinted knight piece.

"Horsey~!" Nora said in delight as she took its matching pair, effectively declaring Nora and Ren's partnership with Jaune and Pyrrha, "We're the Knights of the Horsey~! We're the Knights of the Hor~sey~!"

Amused by the girl's nonsensical song she made up on the spot and the way she hopped in delight, June and Pyrrha couldn't help but to smile. A bright, cheery presence like hers is always welcome in a team. Ren's tired smile however, told a slightly different story. It was as if he found it endearing, but also a bit tiring at times as well.

Their attention was then diverted to the sound of someone exclaiming...

"Oh! We're here." Said Weiss as she and Blake walked out of the forest, "That didn't take as long as I thought it'd be. You're quite good at path-finding." She commended.

Blake simply nodded and hummed positively, affirming that she heard her. She looked towards the temple quite a bit away from them and saw a familiar face amongst the four who were already there, "Oh, there's June."

"Ah, who's she wi-" Weiss spoke before she saw the girl right beside the blonde and promptly stopped. "...No. No way, how could I not have noticed her before?!" she exclaimed. "And she's partnered with June? ...I don't know who I should be jealous _of_." She lamented.

"Pyrrha Nikos." Blake spoke the redhead's name. Four-time Champion of Mistral Regional Tournament in a row. During her times as a New Fang infiltrator, it was part of her duty to keep an eye on the news, to keep track of important, exceptional people, and the young woman's name popped up more than a few times.

So the skilled girl who possessed a very powerful, very versatile Killer Semblance along with the combat skill to make full use of said Semblance is partnered up with the so-called Invincible Girl of Sanctum Academy? 'Some people get all the luck, I guess.' Blake thought as she shared Weiss' sentiment, eerie as that might seem.

She just did not know who to be jealous with. Pyrrha for taking June or June for taking Pyrrha. Nevertheless, the idea of the two partnering up was now a reality, as scary as that might sound to a fellow student who presumably had to have a friendly fight between teams in the future. Facing the two of them would be a horribly one-sided battle, she felt.

"Hey Blake, Weiss." June greeted them with a wave when they were close enough "So... you two are partners?"

Blake and Weiss side-eyed each other before sighing, "We are/It seems so." Said Blake in a rather weary manner while Weiss' tone was one filled with more resignation than anything.

June could see that there was a lot of tension between the two, but she couldn't fathom as to why. 'Maybe it's because she's a faunus?' she wondered to herself. Due to not knowing the details as to how the Schnee company treated their main labor force, June was lost.

"So... Which piece are you going to take?" asked Nora, gleefully curious,

Before either Blake or Weiss could answer the question, another pair came out of the forest, a girl with long mane-like blonde hair wearing a rather skimpy brown, black, orange and yellow ensemble and a shorter girl with dark red hair and a more modest red-and-black ensemble. They saw the six others and quickened their pace in response, eager to meet them and get the relics.

"Heya." The blonde girl, Yang, greeted them with a wave, "So... I'm with Ruby, my sister, who's with who?" she asked.

"Well, my partner's Pyrrha, Pyrrha Nikos." June said as she gently grabbed the smiling Mistralian girl by her right shoulder, "These two are Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie, our teammates." She said as she gestured to Ren and Nora, who both waved, in a subdued manner for Ren and rather enthusiastically for Nora.

"And I am with her." Weiss said as she pointed her thumb at Blake. "I am Weiss Schnee, I believe we've met the night before and she's-"

"Blake Belladonna." She introduced herself.

"Right! I'm Yang Xiao Long, and my sister's name's Ruby Rose." She introduced the two of them while Ruby waved shyly at them, "So, how do we pick our teams?" she asked.

"Well, the rule for partners apply here," June explained, "And since we've already become a four-man team..." she trailed off as she gestured to the pair of knight piece on her hand and Nora's.

Yang and Ruby turned to Blake and Weiss, and the first one to break the ice was Yang, "Well, I guess that makes us a team then." She said with a wide smile.

"Yup, just get a matching pair of chess piece and you're set."June said as she gestured to the available relics, "Ours is the golden knight pair, so if you want a pair of similar color, you'll have to pick anything else."

"Aw, I _wanted_ the golden ponies~" Yang said playfully, she didn't appear hurt or sad by it at all. "Still, there's still the black ponies, do you want to take that?" she asked as she turned to Ruby.

"...I think I'll take that." Ruby answered with a nod as she approached the black knight chess piece.

Between Weiss and Blake, the former walked beside Ruby and took the matching black knight. Both girls looked at each other, Ruby with a sheepish smile and Weiss with a neutral, unreadable expression before both of them nodded. Weiss immediately extended her hand and said; "Weiss Schnee."

Ruby reciprocated the gesture and said, "Ruby Rose. It's nice to meet you, Weiss."

As they did that, Yang went to Blake and said; "So kitty-cat..." she saw as Blake stiffened in a nigh-imperceptible way, but she chose not to comment on that, "How's Snow Princess treating ya?" she asked, wanting to know what kind of person the prissy-looking girl in such a gaudy outfit was like.

Blake, who came to realize that Yang did not knew about her being a faunus but called her kitty-cat because of her bow, said, "...Bearable." was all that she could say, because despite her initial misgivings about the Schnee, she... turned out to be quite alright, considering her previous assumptions about what kind of people the Schnees were.

"...Eh, that's more than I hoped." Yang shrugged. Evidently, she had her pegged as the type that was arrogant, prude and everything related to that, but she could take 'bearable' from the girl whom she had noticed to be very reserved and quiet since day one. "You two can get along?"

"Not exactly, but she's... willing to compromise if it's a must." Blake said.

"Ah, well then, I think we'll all get along just fine." Yang said so easily, "Right then, this test turns out to be easier than expected. We've only encountered a few Grimm along the way."

"Yeah. I think even Emerald Forest isn't all that immune to the steady drop in Grimm presence." Remarked Blake before she looked down at Yang's weapon, a pair gauntlet-shotguns, a standard weapon, only slightly modified to match the color of her hair. 'You can learn about a warrior from their weapon.' Was an old saying she had heard once, and looking at Yang's, she couldn't help but to deduce, 'A person who value simplicity and effectiveness above all else, headstrong, has a confrontational side and a temper to match.' That is her assessment of one Yang Xiao Long.

Compared to her, Yang was like the day to her night, but it seemed that, if her judgment was true, they shared some things in common with each other.

'Hm... promising.' She thought to herself with a smile on her face.

As Ruby and Weiss went back to their respective partners and thus solidified their forming as a team, Yang exclaimed; "Alright, so we just got to get back to Beacon now, right?"

"Hm... who here has fought at least a Grimm?" Weiss asked all of them, to which everyone else save for Blake and herself raised their hands. "Oh... Would it affect our performance grade if we haven't fought any?" she asked immediately.

"I think you'll be fine, they only told us to get the relics, and if push comes to shove, I can vouch for your-" June frowned as she abruptly stopped talking. Was that...? Did she just hear something growling? She turned to look to her left, and stared at the spot between the trees. '...Something's there.' She thought to herself, an outline of a creature was quite visible, a Grimm most likely, but...

A pair of red dots seemed to materialize out of the shadows of the forest, almost reaching the canopy, indicating the creature's height. Unlike the big red eyes that she had seen from the Grimm, this one was far smaller and much more sinister in comparison. "Something's watching us." June warned.

As if on cue, the red dots moved as the creature to which the dots belonged to stepped out.

It was a wolf. A Grimm with the shape of a wolf, a real quadrupedal wolf with black fur... but it lacked the white plating and its eyes, instead of being fully red and faintly glowing, was fully black save for the dots, which June realized was its pupils, giving it a human-like quality due to the fact that they were round-shaped.

To match its terrifying visage, the wolf's size was... immense. 15 feet/4.5 meters tall from the top of its head to its feet, 42 feet/12.8 meters long from its nose to the tip of its long spiky tail, it was easily bigger than the Arachne and much more intimidating despite the lack of bone-like plating.

To their horror, June and the others in its sight could feel the curiosity, the intelligence behind the wolf's eyes. Fear immobilized them, its gaze, the human-like quality it exhibited was something they didn't expect from the Grimm. And for those who had fought some of its much more feral members before, it was... jarring to see the difference.

None of them ever felt this tense before... save for Ruby.

Its gaze reminded her of the monster in human form Lucy, and thanks to her experience, she became very, _very_ cautious instead of getting excited. "...Everyone..." she was the first one to speak, even if she did so quietly, "Stay calm... Don't panic, but be prepared to run."

Yang side-eyed Ruby, the fear was enough to partly paralyze her. Her little sister was more than willing to run for it instead of jumping into the fight? Her wariness was something that Yang didn't expect from her.

"Run?" Weiss whispered back, not taking her eyes off of the gigantic wolf who was still looking at them with a judging stare. "Aren't we supposed to-?"

"No." Blake said to her partner in a terrified tone, "This is... _not_ something that we can fight." Her instinct was yelling at her to run like hell. This wasn't something that they could deal with. And the fact that it looked like the ancestor of _dogs_ didn't help matters for Blake.

"Listen to Ruby and Blake, everyone." June said, "Nora, don't charge at it." She told Nora, who looked antsy, as if very conflicted whether or not she should charge.

"Okay leader..." Nora said quietly, her joviality no longer present.

Even Pyrrha was afraid. 'This Grimm... it isn't feral. Something behind its eyes seems to suggest intelligence, but Grimm are not known for their intelligence unless...' her eyes widened as she said to the others, "It's an old Grimm. I've heard stories that the older they get, the smarter they become, but... I've never seen one so close before."

"H-how old do you think it is?" Yang couldn't help but to ask.

"That doesn't matter." Ren said, "As long as it's still there, guessing its age won't help us, we need a plan here."

"Right, I have an idea, you guys run while I-"

June stopped when the wolf moved, becoming a black blur that shot itself right at Ruby, prompting Yang and June to run at the girl who was paralyzed like a deer in the headlights. June was faster as she came in front of her first, Crocea Mors turned into its shield form and immediately erected a wall of force-field extended from the shield that stopped the wolf cold but also made her skid back several feet.

"Gh...!" she grunted in pain as she was caught by the others. Her arms felt numb, 'Even with forcefield, it's _this_ strong?!' she thought before she gritted her teeth, "Everyone get behind this shield now!" June ordered and everyone followed.

"G-guys, we need to run." Ruby said, "June, can you-?"

"Yeah, I'll hold it as long as I can, go now." June immediately said, calm but it was clear that she was in pain.

"N-no!" Pyrrha exclaimed, "You can't expect us to leave you behind!" She wasn't willing to lose the first true friend she's made, not like this.

"Sis, what are you saying?!" Yang couldn't believe that Ruby would even order such a thing. "Why are you-?!"

"I didn't mean it like that! I-I was about to say that someone carry June facing backwards so that she can keep protecting us while we run!" Ruby said.

"...Oh well that's a good idea!" Yang exclaimed before she lifted June up in an awkward manner, with her being on the front, her arms and shield facing the wolf still, but because of their height difference, Yang's head was firmly on Jun's breasts.

"...It looks awkward, but it might be the best idea we've had so far." Blake couldn't help but to remark before she looked back at the wolf, which was still content on just watching them for some reason. "Before it attacks us again, let's just-"

Suddenly, another player came into the field. Unlike the wolf, he came with a bang, a loud dramatic entrance from above and did a three-point landing between them and the wolf. The bottom edge of a dark blue long coat on a blonde man's broad-shouldered back billowed against the wind that was created by his entrance.

"Jaune...!" Ruby spoke the name with great relief in her voice.

"Brother...!" June whispered out, glad that he had arrived before the situation devolved even further.

Jaune Arc was facing the wolf with blazing blue eyes glaring against its hellish eyes of black scleras, irises and red miniscule pupils. Then, as if coming from within his own head was the voice of one Glynda Goodwitch.

" _Jaune, I'm assuming you're taking responsibility?"_

"Yes, I am." Jaune answered readily, "Keep an eye out in case there's anything coming from behind."

" _I will. So far, the Wolf's the only anomalous Grimm around. Where did it come from, how did we miss its presence?"_

"Some old Grimm tend to go hiding, preferring to wait it out." Jaune answered, "They're the kind that never strays far from their nest, and this one might've been here long before Beacon was formed." Said Jaune before he elaborated, "Its intelligent, fast, strong and the lack of plating concerns me..."

" _Why?"_

"Either it outgrown them, or it shed it off, like a caterpillar shedding its cocoon after it becomes a butterfly."

" _...You're saying it metamorphosed?"_

"Maybe. Either way, if it wants to get to my sister and her friends, it will have to go through me." He said, all the while still keeping an eye on the curious yet immobile wolf which... didn't seem all that aggressive compared to the Grimm he had fought before.

But then once again, it moved like a blur, heading straight to Jaune. Like his sister before, he blocked it right on its nose, stopping it cold... using only his left hand.

The kinetic wave created by the impact reverberated, sending a wave of wind to the watchers behind him, but he wasn't done. Just as the wolf began to sniff him, he cocked his fist back, earning a wide-eyed look from the wolf who immediately tried to body-slam him using its side.

It only allowed him to grab onto its body, pulled it into a 360 degrees rotation before he threw the wolf away from those behind him, sending it flying away.

It shook the earth when it landed on its left side before it quickly got back on its feet. Its eyes were narrowed, it was crouching, as if ready to pounce and it huffed, yet it did not growl. Jaune frowned at the behavior. Grimm, even the old, ancient ones, were known to be aggressive towards any sentient lives, humans and faunus alike, yet this one...

'It's not fighting back...' it didn't add up. Something didn't add up, why wasn't the Wolf attacking?

Behind him, the group of would-be Huntsmen were still trying to comprehend what they just witnessed. They just saw a rather tall but nevertheless normal-sized man lifted and threw a wolf Grimm bigger than some vehicles as if it weighed nothing.

"Whoa... he's gotten stronger." June remarked.

Those who hadn't seen how fast and/or strong he was, that is everyone else but Yang and Ruby, were rendered silent. That was until June said that of course, at which point, Weiss screamed out.

"W-wait a minute! How did he do that?! Did he just _threw_ that gigantic beast like it was nothing?!" Weiss asked.

"He did..." Blake answered, as much in disbelief as her partner was.

"Whoa, so he _is_ a superhero!" Nora exclaimed.

Ren simply stayed silent, a bit shocked, and what he saw made him a bit wary of the man while Pyrrha...

"...Incredible." there was awe in her eyes, something that, if she were able to see it, she would find familiar, having had seen it before from her fans.

"Yeah, he's... pretty incredible." Yang said with a slight smirk.

"...Something's up with the wolf." Ruby said, earning the attention of the others save for Jaune, "It doesn't... it doesn't look like it wants to fight."

Looking back, it was clear to them that the wolf was staying still where he was, just like what Jaune was doing. "Well... maybe it's because it's terrified of him?" Yang asked rhetorically.

"Not... terrified." Ren said, earning the others' attention, "It's being-"

'-submissive.' Jaune thought to himself, realizing what the beast was doing. It wasn't attacking not because it was preparing for it, but because it didn't want to. Perhaps him moving fast was just its way of approaching him? With that in mind, he relaxed a bit... and the wolf responded in kind.

A second later, it began to walk towards him, slowly but surely with measured pace and steps until it finally got right in front of him. It was looking down on him as he looked at it right in the eyes and did not show any fear.

Then, slowly, the wolf gently touched the top of his head with its nose, and Jaune had never felt so bewildered before. "So... Friendly?" He asked flatly, prompting the wolf to remove its nose from his head and look at him. "It's hard to tell what you think from your face alone."

The wolf narrowed its eyes slightly before licking him with its very red tongue. Fortunately, it didn't leave any trace of saliva, but it was still quite bizarre. "Thanks for clarifying that..." He remarked with a deadpan, to which the wolf simply huffed.

Jaune looked back to where his sister and the others were and saw them... puzzled by what happened before he turned back to the wolf and asked; "Will you hurt them?"

The wolf looked at them, prompting them to become a bit skittish for a moment before it turned its gaze to Jaune and shook its head. "...Alright." he accepted it, and that was that. "Still doesn't change how bizarre this whole thing is." He remarked to himself.

" _Agreed."_ Glynda's voice said inside his head, _"Ozpin has said that he'd like to meet with the Grimm... After you do what you need to do, of course."_

"Right." Jaune said as he turned his back to the massive wolf and was about to walk towards where the newly formed teams were before he looked at the wolf behind his shoulders and said; "Can you speak?"

He saw as its throat seemed to rumble before it let out a noise that... could only be best described as the groaning of hundreds people with deep voice trying to say 'No' only for it to come out as, "NnnnnNNnnoooouuUuUUuuaAA"

The teams of would-be Huntsmen shivered at the sound while Jaune blinked and said; "Alright, not a definitive no." He then turned and walked towards the would-be Huntsmen as the wolf sat down on its abdomen.

"It's okay, it's not going to hurt you." Said Jaune as he stood right in front of them before he turned to June who was still nursing her forearms, "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I-it's okay, It's only a little bit of pain." June answered sheepishly, as if she had done something wrong. She was about to say more before her right forearm was gently grabbed by Jaune and he caressed it to test whether or not it needed immediate aid.

"Hm, I think you'll be okay." Jaune said, not noticing the blush on his sister's cheeks before he let go of it and asked the others; "Is anyone else hurt?"

"N-no." Ruby answered for them as they all shook their heads. "T-thank you for interfering, I thought that we were... Well, a-as it turned out, we didn't need it, but-"

"Don't worry about it." Jaune said with a wave of his hand before he said; "However... that being said, there is another reason why I'm here." He said before he walked away from them a bit, putting a small distance between them, "All of you are talented. Not only that, skilled. Your potentials are great."

He turned to them again before putting his hands on the pocket of his pants and said; "However, it is also clear that you haven't been challenged with something beyond your ability." He said before subtly looking at a certain redhead wearing a hood, "Well, save for one of you anyway."

It was subtle enough that no one save for the one whom he was referring to knew who he meant by that, which allowed Ruby to breathe more freely. "Of course, that's before you met that guy." He said as he pointed his thumb at the sitting wolf watching the unfolding event with interest. "Still, the fact stands that you did not fight it because it didn't want to do that in the first place. So what if you're faced with someone or something that _really_ wants you dead?"

The question changed the atmosphere in an instant as Jaune cast the same glare he had directed at the wolf before at them.

They felt an oppressive feeling bearing down on them, and, thanks to them having experienced it just before, it allowed them to be able to get their weapons out and drop into a stance.

"Y-you're going to fight us?" Ruby asked, very afraid just at the thought of that.

Even June showed a bit of fear, though her face also showed a bit of excitement, "Heh... Even though I'm not in full form, I'll gladly do that." She said, "I want to see how far the gap between us is now."

The rest, even Yang and Nora, remained silent, as his show of power conveyed a very clear message: Do. Not. Fight him. Yet right now, that's what they were going to do regardless.

"You are the first eight people who got the relics, congratulations." He commended them honestly, "You are among the most promising trainees this academy ever had in years, and that says a lot about you all. However, I'm here for a reason: To bring you down and keep you grounded in reality. Consider this the very first lesson that will be imparted to you. And for that to sink in... I will have to take you seriously."

Cold sweat trailed down from their heads to their neck, some of them gulped as fear once again took hold of their hearts. But this time, they were prepared to fight no matter what, even if they know they will lose, they will put up a fight.

"You're far below my level." He stated as a matter-of-fact, "And as such, I will only use-" he lifted his hand a bit and pointed his right pinky finger at them "-this finger to touch you." At the slightly confused look, he said, "If you underestimate me even slightly when you don't know the extent of my full strength, _don't._ Huntsmen never underestimate any unknown elements from anything or anyone. Their life and that of others are on the line when they do that."

Thoroughly chastised, they could only nod, prompting Jaune to say, "Good. On the count of three. One."

Tension spiked up abruptly as they were rooted in place and keeping their eyes set on him.

"Two."

If they had to fight, then so be it! They will go down fighting!

"Three."

Ruby charged with her Semblance before she forced herself to a stop when she heard the sound of several people falling down. She turned back and saw everyone, _everyone,_ on the ground, writhing and groaning while grabbing their abdomens. They looked and sounded like they were in so much pain and wanted to scream out but couldn't because of that.

"Guhk...! Aaagh...!" Yang's groans were the loudest, "What... the fuck...?" her self-control over profanity usage near her sister broke due to how much pain she was in.

"Aaah... Ren... it hurts... so much..." Nora moaned out. She sounded as if she was crying.

"Wh...at... was... that...?" Pyrrha spoke raggedly, as if all her energy had been sucked away.

"It... It hurts...! It hurts... so much..." Weiss muttered as she was shaking.

"Uuugh..." Blake couldn't even form a coherent word as she closed her eyes shut, trying to will the pain away.

Ren's breathing was ragged and he wasn't even able to get his voice out.

"B-brother..." June struggled to get her voice out, "H-how...? How... are you still... so far away...?"

A moment later, all of them, one by one, fell unconscious, and Ruby realized that they all had been defeated in a single second. The moment Ruby used her Semblance, all of her friends were on the ground in pain, unable to move. In horror, she quickly turned to Jaune... only to find him just an inch away from her, forcing her to look up to meet his eyes.

She was shaking. The memories of that night with that monster was returning as this reminded her of how helpless and utterly powerless she was, and then, with pity and regret visible in his eyes, he flicked her in the head using his pinky finger, rendering her unconscious.

And that's how their Beacon's initiation test ended...

* * *

 _Sometime later..._

He watched as Glynda levitated the incapacitated new team from afar, carrying them towards Beacon. His job is finished, all of them now had the capacity to acquire a Mantle, with Ruby having the potential before that thanks to the incident a couple of days back.

The girl's reaction showed him that she was still quite traumatized by what happened a couple days ago. 'I'll need to be there for her then.' He thought resolutely. What happened with Ruby can be linked to him, so he felt responsible for her well-being. If that had to continue now that she's in Beacon and he's an assistant professor, then that's what he will do.

'Now...' he thought as he turned and walked to the wolf who, while the others were down, had come and sniffed on them before deciding to look at him with a gaze that Jaune guessed to be inquisitive. "What did you find interesting back there, wolf?" he asked.

In response, it lifted one of its clawed forelegs and scratched out three words on the ground:

YOU

CHANGED

THEM

Jaune's eyebrows rose up, "You can tell?" he asked, to which it replied...

YES

'So now they _do_ have Mantle.' Jaune thought with a nod before he asked, "How can you tell?" he asked.

SCENT

Jaune frowned at the word before he asked, "Physical or Spiritual?" he asked, which made it look confused. He sighed before making it simple, "Is it from their body or their soul?", which allowed it to answer...

SOUL

"So Grimm can smell souls... Now isn't this interesting?" he asked rhetorically before he said, "You know, there's someone who would _really_ like to meet you to ask you some questions. Are you willing to come along?"

It pondered what should its answer to the question be for a long moment, as if it was deciding on something life-changing, which sounded ridiculous when one saw that it was a Grimm. Afterwards, it then wrote its decision...

YES

"Well... good." Was all that he could say to the cooperative old Grimm, "Let's go to Beacon then."

And with that said, Jaune walked alongside the gigantic wolf Grimm towards Beacon, leaving the temple behind them...

A couple of seconds after they left, a group of four boys came out from the forest, led by a rather tall one decked in heavy-looking armor. All of them looked terrified for their life as they walked to the temple.

"Oh man, I thought they'd _never_ leave..." muttered one who had a mohawk.

"I know, if it weren't for that big wolf, we would've been here first. I mean the thing fricking blocked us from advancing!" said the one with dark blue hair.

"Whatever, either way, I'm just glad that we can get the relics now." Said the one decked in bronze-looking armor.

"Agreed, let's just get the relics and go." Said the leader of the team as they approached the temple, passing by the words on the ground which the wolf carved without even sparing them a glance.

* * *

 **To be Continued...**

* * *

 **So ends the initiation test... And a new element to the story in the form of the bizarre wolf Grimm. I'll see you in the next chapter!  
**


	11. Time for Explanations

**Disclaimer:** I don't own RWBY, it is owned by Rooster Teeth.

* * *

 _Her enemy fought with a savage grin on her face. Even an animal would never find pleasure from battle, yet this woman did, and it unnerved her._

 _Yet she continued to fight, knowing no other way out now that she had entered it. Her form was perfect, her movements were impeccable and as fast as ever and Crescent Rose was in top capacity, she was good._

 _However, her enemy was better. As small as she herself was, yet she had experience and skill, as evidenced by how little she managed to hurt her and how she only got hurt early on by her beloved scythe._

 _For every slice she managed to land, the wound on her enemy healed in a second, and for every second that passed, she felt her body getting more and more tired. Prolonged battle was not her forte._

 _It only took a single window of opportunity for her enemy to catch her by the arms, and to her horror, she pulled out a sizable chunk of her flesh from her left arm using her bare hand._

 _She screamed, never had she felt so much pain before, and then, with her flesh still in her enemy's hand, her enemy said..._

" _Beautiful flesh you have... Very healthy, not to mention how firm it is... You must have put a great effort in maintaining a healthy lifestyle."_

 _Then, right in front of her, her enemy_ ate _the flesh that she had ripped away and_ moaned _in delight, "Mmmm... Delicious~"_

 _Then, and only then, did Ruby realize that she was facing a monster. A monster with a taste for human flesh that outclassed her like a Griffon outclassed a Beowolf._

 _Death had never felt closer to her before that moment..._

* * *

 **Time For Explanations**

* * *

Ruby woke up with a gasp and cold sweat all over her body. Another nightmare that reminded her of the monster. After realizing that, Ruby took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down, just like she usually did after the first night. Will it ever stop? She doubted it'll happen soon, but she's learned how to deal with it.

After she had calmed down, she looked around and saw that she, along with her teammates along with June and _her_ own teammates, were in the infirmary, tended to by two women. One of them was a peach-colored haired woman with a pink-colored, low-cut dress beneath her white lab coat and the other was wearing a white, short-sleeved dress shirt with a pair of black pantsuit and shoes to match, which looked rather nice with her brown skin, hair and eyes.

"Ah, one of them's awake." Said the woman lacking the lab coat, "Hello~ Ruby Rose, correct? I'm Amber, assistant to Professor Peach here." She gestured to the woman in the lab coat, "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm... feeling alright." She answered, "H-how are the others? Are they okay?" she asked right afterwards, "W-what did Jaune do anyway? He moved so fast!"

"Well, firstly, please call him _Professor_ Arc." Professor Peach reminded Ruby with a small smile, "And, well, judging from the size and shape of the small marks on their abdomens, it seems that he struck them with his pinky finger." Peach answered.

"S-so... he really _did_ just use one finger?" Ruby couldn't help but to ask in shock. "H-how-?" she stopped asking when she realized that it was a simple combination of a great amount of physical force plus a very small surface area of the weapon. "...How powerful is he...?"

"Having seen his capability firsthand... Far above everyone else." Amber remarked.

"Agreed." Peach said, "Off the record, Ms. Rose, but Jaune was once tasked with the same thing you have passed... and he did it in under twenty seconds."

Ruby gulped, both awed and shocked. 'Some people are just... really, really, _really..._ strong, huh?" she asked with her head cast down. Ruby had always been a girl who was proud of herself. She knew she was strong, she knew she was capable... but only up to a point. After her encounter with Lucy, her self-esteem took quite a beating, and now _this_.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Miss Rose, when I asked him _how_ he is so powerful... He told me that it is thanks to hard work." Peach said, "So... do not lose hope." She encouraged.

Ruby could only smile sheepishly and said; "...Thanks." she cleared her throat before asking, "U-um, how long was I out?"

"Twenty minutes." Answered Peach, "Your recovery time is quite fast, Ms. Rose, it was quite impressive. Even the lump on your forehead has disappeared."

Ruby nursed the spot where Jaune had flicked her and found that it no longer hurt. "...Was it bad?"

"When they brought you here, they told me that the lump was the size of a ping pong ball." Answered Peach, "But it was healed as you were being brought. Normally, you would still be sporting it, but it seems that you heal fast."

Heal fast? She could _move_ fast, sure, but her Semblance did not carry over to her cells and allow her to recover from a wound faster than normal. 'Come to think of it, lately it would take me longer to get tired too...' she remembered the sleepless nights after that day, how she attributed it to insomnia at first, but it wasn't that she _couldn't_ sleep, no, it was that it was _hard_ for her to get tired.

It was something to look into. But in the meantime... "So is the test over?" she asked.

"It's been over for quite sometime, but it's been decided that the ceremony will be postponed until later this afternoon for several reasons, one of which is..." she gestured to the girls who were in their beds, recovering.

"Oh... O-okay." Ruby nodded, "W-what should I do in the meantime?"

"Well, you can rest here, Amber and I will have to go for a meeting with Ozpin and other professors in regards to... what occurred in the temple between you and... a certain Grimm." She said.

Ruby's eyes widened, "That's right, the wolf! W-what happened to it? I know that it turned out to be peaceful, but what did Jaune do to it?"

Peach looked exasperated while Amber chuckled, "Oh let's just say that he's made a new friend."

* * *

 _On the cliff overlooking Emerald Forest..._

"He might just be the friendliest Grimm I have ever encountered..." said one Peter Port as he looked up at the gigantic wolf Grimm that was staring down at him and his colleagues, "And one of the biggest too! He could easily swallow me whole with his mouth!"

"Indeed, yet the most curious thing about it is its lack of plating." Said his taller colleague, Bartholomew Oobleck. "Every Grimm known possess natural armor, its bone-like plates that covered sections of their bodies, but this one lacks such a defensive measure. I wonder what it could possibly mean? And how old did you say it is, Mr. Arc?"

"I've yet to ask it that question, doctor." Jaune reminded him, "What matters now is that it gives us more information about the Grimm. Mainly that it can 'smell' one's soul and that Mantle-users apparently smell different."

"Judging from how its been staring at me, I can see that." Glynda remarked as it kept looking at her with its curious demonic-looking eyes. "And it can understand us too?"

Instead of the humans around, it answered for itself, "Yyyeesssss." The wolf said with a warped voice.

"You're getting better." Jaune remarked while the others were unnerved by the voice that came out of its throat. In response, it only huffed. Presumably an equivalent of a shrug. "Still, how old are you?"

It shook its head as an answer, "Can't tell?" Jaune asked, and it simply huffed again. It was evident that the wolf did not care to count the passage of time. Sighing at the lack of information, Jaune turned to Ozpin, "So? What do you think?"

He had been quiet the entire time, opting only to examine the wolf from a safe distance. Though he appeared calm and collected, he was a bit disconcerted with the presence of the massive wolf Grimm and how its rather peaceful nature belied the fact that it was no doubt powerful. Old, ancient Grimm tend to be sufficiently strong enough to wipe out an entire city on their own.

"Firstly, I am... aghast that you've been here for long enough yet have never been encountered before." Ozpin began, "Though you're proven to be peaceful for reasons unknown, the fact remains that you are quite powerful... What are your intentions now that we know of your existence?" he asked.

The wolf closed its eyes before it answered; "Tooo sstttaay."

Stay, it said, it wanted to stay. A wolf Grimm the size of a plane, staying at Beacon. Even if it meant in the Emerald Forest, its existence is now known, and though it was designed as a hunting ground for would-be Huntsmen, if it ever got out to the public... "...I suppose I can work something out."

"And by that, he meant _I_ can work something out." Glynda remarked with an exasperated sigh, "Still... as long as you do not go out to attack anyone, you are welcomed to stay in the Emerald Forest."

The wolf looked at Beacon standing behind it before it turned to Jaune and with one of its claws, wrote a couple of words on the ground.

ALLOW

ME

THERE

It was asking permission to have access to the school. A massive Grimm, having access to the school that educate prospective Huntsmen whose job was to hunt its ilk.

Certainly nothing wrong can come from having such a thing approved, can it?

* * *

 _Later on that afternoon..._

A group of eight people, composed of seven girls and one boy walked towards the amphitheater by themselves. All of them looked fine and well, but there was something negative behind their eyes, like the feeling of inadequacy, of broken pride, of having swallowed a bitter truth pill which was the fact that they were still... pretty much nothing as Huntsmen. Faced with the sheer power that was one Jaune Arc was... an experience, to say the least.

Ruby tried to lighten the mood, feeling much better due to the fact that she had time to digest the fact that she was still at a very low level, "Come on guys, we did really well on the test, didn't we?" she rhetorically asked.

"Well, we did..." her sister Yang said, "But... let's just say that Jaune succeeded. He said that he was going to bring us down and keep us grounded, and... he did. We..." she let out a mirthless chuckle, "We got _annihilated_."

"Yeah... and I didn't even get to use Magnhild on him!" exclaimed Nora Valkyrie, "If only he gave us a chance..." she pouted.

"He kind of did." Ren reminded her and the others, "He just used one finger to attack us."

"He was so fast..." Weiss muttered, "How can anyone be that fast? Is it his Semblance or something? But that doesn't explain his strength, he lifted and threw that giant wolf like it weighs nothing!"

"...June." Blake turned to his sister who had been very quiet ever since they were discharged, "Your brother, he... has he always been this strong?"

June looked at Blake, and she saw how unhappy she was still, but politely she answered, "No, he... He's always been strong, but... I think he's even stronger now than he was before."

"...So... he improved over time?" Pyrrha asked, "Could it be through training?" she attempted to divert the topic a bit, having the one who were the least sad and/or annoyed about the whole losing so quickly thing. If anything she felt... lighter, as to her, what happened was a good thing. Of course, not wanting the others to notice, she had been maintaining a poker face.

"Yeah, he..." June smiled a bit at this and said; "He's very dedicated, to say the least." She was fond of him for that reason. Even if it did end up with him running away from home, he did it because of his inner drive to improve and do something with what he had.

"Well, that's it then, right?" Ruby asked, prompting the others to look at her, "We need to train ourselves harder now that we've seen how far we have to go! _That's_ why he did it! I bet Professor Ozpin's in on it too!"

There was a short silence before Weiss said; "Hm... that does sound plausible."

"Training huh... Why couldn't he just spell it out instead of having to do that?" asked Yang, a bit skeptical.

"Maybe because that gets the point across more effectively." Said Blake, "Actions _are_ louder than words, most of the time." She said.

"Training! Oh I'd love to train more! Especially after what happened!" Nora said enthusiastically as Ren simply smiled, silently agreeing to that notion.

"It's something that we'll be doing anyway, but... I suppose what Professor Jaune did really get the point across." Pyrrha stated. To lose a fight so thoroughly... she never thought she'd ever feel it, the novelty of the feeling and then the resulting desire to become better... It was as if a fire had been lit in her heart, demanding her to improve for its own sake.

"...Yeah." June smiled widely as she nodded in realization, "Yeah, you're right. The gap between us might still be big now, but that means that I- we, just need to work harder." She almost slipped at that part, "He's still beyond my reach." she muttered as she looked at her enclosing right fist, "I still have my work cut out for me..." she closed her eyes as she steeled her resolve.

She needed to get herself together. So she still needed to work more? Then that's what she's going to do. As she promised herself, a shimmer of blue light suddenly materialized around her enclosed right hand before her whole body seemed to glow with a hum as the outline of a curved M-shaped plate on its front began to form around right in front of her brow, covering her nose and the outer sides of her eyes.

"U-uh, June?"

"Hm?" she turned to Ruby, which broke her focus and caused the blue glow to dissipate into nothing at the same time. "What is it, Ruby?" she asked.

"Y-you were glowing." The red hooded girl answered, "A-and there was something that... pops up above your head and... Was that your Semblance?"

"It looks like it." Weiss remarked, "Her Semblance is force field, but that strange-looking plate over your brow looked new."

"Plate? What are you-?"

She stopped, having arrived in the Amphitheater where the other first years were already gathered on the seats with only two of the Professors present, Oobleck and Port. "Huh, are they still doing that thing Professor Peach and Amber said?" she wondered.

"Most likely." Pyrrha remarked before she asked; "Let's find a seat, shall we?"

Wordlessly, they agreed and as they went around the amphitheater, the other Professors including the Headmaster and the Deputy Headmistress were all gathered at the podium, prompting the other first years to stand up.

"...Seems like we're _all_ standing up now." Yang remarked flatly. Despite the grumbling tone of her voice and the discontented look on the others that they shared with Yang, they did it anyway.

They gathered together with the other first-years as the Headmaster was standing right in front of the mic. _"Congratulations first-years, for completing the test. Here are the assembled teams, their names and their members. Firstly..."_ once again, concise and straight to the heart of the matter.

The eight of them watched as he called the teams by their names and members one by one, accompanied with the claps of the others as they walked to the stage to be shown. As they did so, they noticed an absent member of the staff, 'Where's brother...?' June thought to herself with a frown.

After Ozpin finished announcing Team Cardinal, they heard Ozpin saying; _"Now here are the last two teams of the first-years. Firstly, we have the team consisting of Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long, please get on the stage."_

Like the others before them, they walked to the stage in line, with Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang from the right to the left. _"From now on you will be known as Team Ruby (RWBY) and will be led... by Ruby Rose."_ Ozpin announced.

While the others not on stage were clapping. Ruby appeared shocked, as was Weiss while Blake simply raised her eyebrows and Yang congratulated her sister with a thumbs-up and a wide grin on her face. "W-wait, I'm the leader?!" Ruby couldn't help but to ask.

Before anything else could be done, Ozpin already continued, _"Please stay there for a moment, Team RWBY."_ Ozpin ordered, _"And now the last new team consisting of Juniper Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos and Lie Ren. Please get on the stage."_

At that announcement, everyone who had known June frowned as they looked at the blonde girl who was blushing in embarrassment. As the four began to walk towards the stage, Nora asked, "Why did they call you Juniper? Isn't your name June?"

"Juniper is... my full given name." June said as they walked up the stairs leading to the stage, "June's a nickname, one that I prefer, it's shorter, it sounds sweet, so please call me that instead." She requested Nora and by proxy, her teammates who heard it.

"Oh. Okay!" Nora accepted that without a problem along with Pyrrha and Ren who smiled and nodded.

They stood beside Team RWBY, from the left to right, the line-up was June, Nora, Pyrrha and Ren. _"From now on, you will be known as Team Juniper (JNPR), and your leader will be Juniper Arc."_

Once again, there were clapping all around, which lasted for a couple of seconds before Ozpin said; _"Now... there's another thing that will be addressed here. Team RWBY, Team JNPR... Both of you will become a joint group under the supervision of a Professor."_

Every student, without exception, looked surprised at that announcement. "W-wait, what?" Weiss asked out of shock. "W-why?"

" _Though rare, sometimes a professor is assigned to a team in order to supervise them for a couple of reasons Huntsmen of all ages, new or old, knew the value of teamwork. As you learn to trust and rely on your teammates, you will also learn how to work with others. Your supervising professor for this will be Mr. Jaune Arc."_

As if on cue, said man dressed in the dark blue suit walked towards the podium, straight to the empty spot between Ruby and June and stood on it, prompting Ozpin to continue, _"And that's it for this initiation test. Your dorm room numbers will be given as you walk out along with the key, all sent to your Scrolls, which is how you open them. Your belongings, which we have asked you to send, have also been placed there. Tomorrow you will all begin your first day as students of Beacon... Do try your best in maintaining its high standards."_

After that ominous parting, Ozpin left, walking past Jaune as he whispered something to him, which prompted him to nod before he walked in front of JNPR and RWBY, turned to face them and said; "Your dorm rooms are across from each other, the numbers should be sent to you in about a minute. Tomorrow's class will be Grimm Studies with Professor Peter Port, and after that, you'll be given free sessions until the day ends, but I want you to gather at the private sparring arena in the basement after the designated lunch time, 3 o'clock on the dot, I'll message you the direction."

"Whoa, straight to work on the first day?" Yang couldn't help but to make a remark about that. "No time to relax in Beacon, huh?" she asked rhetorically.

"It's only on every other day for now, only three two-to-three-hour meetings a week with breaks in between, and that does not include weekends. You'll have plenty of time to spare, but if you want to keep on working, you can ask me to arrange something, but do inform me at least a day before." Jaune explained, "You _must_ attend tomorrow, do _not_ skip it, understood?"

Ruby and June nodded immediately, both were eager to have Jaune teach them personally. Yang simply shrugged, thinking that having Jaune teach her wouldn't be so bad, since she knew how outclassed she was to him and was willing to improve, who would be better than him in Beacon?

It took both Blake and Weiss a moment to nod back. Both of them had enough experience with June to gauge her, but with Jaune, they were once again facing an unknown element. However, considering how much June seemed to respect her brother, they were willing to give him a chance.

Inwardly, Pyrrha was eager, but she maintained her composure as she gave Jaune a calm, decisive nod. First, she experienced the refreshing feeling of being considered as a normal stranger by June, and then through her brother, she experienced what was undoubtedly a complete and utter defeat. She felt humbled, to say the least. To be brought down from the pedestal that the people had put her onto without her consent was a cathartic feeling to her and she couldn't wait for the man to be teaching her.

Then, Nora answered for both herself and Ren when she grinned and saluted the professor, "Aye aye sir! Ren and I, we will follow your order!" she exclaimed, "Ah! Not to worry fearless leader!" she said as she turned to June, "We'll still follow your lead too!"

Ren simply sighed before he said; "Understood sir." He verbally expressed his willingness, even with a drowsy tone of voice that seemed to suggest perpetual exhaustion from him.

"Alright then, after this, you'll have quite a long free session, but starting at nine p.m., there'll be curfew, so don't stay out too late." He informed them, "I'll open my office until then if any of you want to-"

"I'll come by after I've finished packing and cleaning the room up, is that okay?" June immediately asked, her voice filled with curious intent.

"Sure. It's on the teacher's housing, fourth floor, the second door to the right." Jaune informed them, "All the Professors have their offices and living quarters combined here, so do keep that in mind also."

It took a second, but all of them got what he was implying and nodded... Save for Ruby who frowned and asked, "Why do we need to know that?" she didn't get why he had to add that bit.

Yang pursed her lips as the others were looking at the leader of Team RWBY with either raised eyebrows, frown or a small smile at her innocence/ignorance, depending on who was looking at her. "Uh, I'll tell you later when we get to our dorm, Rubes." Yang said.

"Right, that's all I wanted to say. I'll see you tomorrow, and June, I'll see you later."

"You got it brother." June said as Jaune exited the stage. She followed the sight of his back for a couple of seconds along with Ruby and most of the eight member-team before she turned to everyone else near her and said; "Well, let's get to our dorms, shall we?"

* * *

 _Later on..._

The dorm room that they were given was quite spacious. That exact sentiment was shared by team RWBY and JNPR as they unpacked their baggage. A space that four people could live in quite comfortably, if a tad cramped, a closet big enough to house a large number of clothing items and an integrated toilet complete with a shower and a bathtub.

Both teams dealt with the bed situation their own way. JNPR handled it normally while Team RWBY...

"Wonder what's all those ruckus are about?" June wondered to herself. Hearing the noise that was coming from the room across from them suggested something wacky was afoot. She shook her head with a smile on her face and said; "They sure sound like they're having fun."

Ren, who was hearing the same thing as they were, said; "I'm pretty sure I can hear Weiss screaming and yelling while Yang is laughing." He remarked.

"Ooooh, they sound like they're having fun~!" Nora exclaimed wholeheartedly, to which Ren just sighed.

Pyrrha simply smiled as she quietly giggled, pleased with herself that her team seemed to mesh together well. Right now, they had already finished unpacking, and right now they were relaxing. "We could always check what's going on." She offered.

"...Nah, I say leave them be for now." June said, "Considering that we're a joint team, we have plenty of time later on to see what their room looks like." With a satisfied sigh, she asked, "So, first things first, bath rotation. No offense, but who's the fastest one to bathe here?."

Her teammates, well, Nora, readily answered, "Ooh, Ren's the fastest bather here! He's very effective with time and always ends up so clean!"

"...I... can't say the same thing about Nora." Ren said, "It varies from time to time. Depending on whether she had been profusely sweating hours before, and without anyone else I know to compare to, I can't say for sure."

Next was Pyrrha, "At best, it will only take me... twenty minutes. At worst, it can take up to about half an hour." She answered. Maintaining her hair takes effort and time after all.

"Hm..." June digested the information she was given for a moment as she cupped her chin before she said; "Alright, so the rotation will be: Ren, me, Nora, then Pyrrha." She decided before she explained, "The longest bath I ever took was fifteen minutes, on average I only take ten to twelve minutes. Is everyone okay with that?"

"I'm okay with it, team leader!" Nora exclaimed with a thumbs up.

"It works for me." Ren answered with a nod.

"Sounds excellent, June." Pyrrha agreed.

"Alright then, what's next, what's next...?" she mulled over before she flicked her finger in realization, "Ah, that's right, since we're rooming together, are there any of you who are uncomfortable with changing clothes in front of people? Ren, I think I saw you changing in the shower right before the initiation test instead of at the public locker room."

"I'll use the toilet, it's fine." Ren immediately said.

"Right, thanks." June nodded, grateful that Ren could give an immediate answer, "Okay then, I guess that's all. Or is there anything I miss?" she asked.

"Oh! There's one thing you've forgotten!" Nora exclaimed as she raised her hand up high.

"And that is?"

"Why, the 'Yay, we're a team now!' party, of course!" Nora exclaimed, "This is a big day! The starting point of our career as Huntsmen! Let's celebrate it!" she said giddily as she jumped up and down.

June simply smiled at Nora's antics before she took out her Scroll and looked at the time, "Hm... I have to meet with my brother later on, so we don't have time to go outside... Why don't we go to the canteen and see what's available?" he asked.

"Alright~! Team JNPR to the canteen!" Nora exclaimed before she went off on her own, leaving behind her teammates in her wake.

"Ren, get her Scroll over there." June said, pointing to the Scroll left on Nora's bed.

"Yup." Ren said as he took her Scroll and pocketed it, not wanting Nora to get locked out of their room because of her hyper-active tendencies.

When they got out, June glanced at the room occupied by Team RWBY and chuckled as she heard the sound of something big crashing, followed by Weiss getting angry at Ruby. She shook her head as she walked away, heading to the canteen.

* * *

 _Later on..._

The knock on the door leading to his room prompted Jaune, who was dressed casually with a blue t-shirt and a pair of plain black boxers to open it. The sight of his sister wearing a similar get-up as he was smiling up at him greeted him, prompting him to he smile back and say; "Hey June. Come on in." He turned to allow an opening for his sister to enter the room.

"Hey, before we do anything else, show me around the room, brother." She requested, to which her brother nodded as she followed him further in.

The office was quite large and spacious, mainly because it was adjoined with a living quarters reserved for his usage, which consisted of a decent-sized bedroom with a double bed, a closet bigger than the one June had in her dorm room along with an integrated bathroom and an adjoined kitchen-dining room, which was separated from the living room right in front of the 'office' area by a line of countertop integrated to the wall, which had a pair of sliding wooden panel that could close the gap and maintain one's privacy.

The office part itself consisted of only a typical large wooden desk with a movable leather armchair behind it along with a couple of bookcases which were only sparsely filled with books, and in front of it there were two much less comfortable chairs for students or guests to sit in, presumably. The living room meanwhile, had two long brown leather couches against the opening to the kitchen behind it and across the aforementioned couch, facing a rectangle-shaped coffee table decorated with a vase containing a bouquet of flowers and a big, brown leather armchair facing the coffee table and the couches.

"Wow, you can easily house four people here." June remarked. "It'll get a bit cramped, but there's enough place to eat, sleep and bath for more than one."

"They spared no expense." Jaune remarked, "I told Glynda and Ozpin I could do with a smaller room, but this is pretty much the standard for Beacon's teaching staff. And apparently, Glynda and Ozpin agreed that I earned it." He shrugged before he said, "Come on, take a seat." He gestured to the couch.

June took a seat and Jaune asked, "Do you want some tea or water?"

"No no, just... sit beside me. Closely." Was all that June asked of him, and he did so, taking the empty spot on her right, though he was curious as to what she wanted to do... Which was answered right afterwards when June put her head on his shoulder, which elicited a content sigh from her, "...I miss you."

Jaune, with a slight grimace of a smile, responded to the gesture and her statement by wrapping his left arm around her and said; "Sorry for leaving you."

"No, I understand... Mom, dad, even our sisters come to terms with what you did, given time, but... I can't help but to miss you." June confessed, "I knew immediately why you left as soon as mom and dad revealed what's on the note. I got it, but... I can't _not_ miss you. Seven years is a long time you know?" she asked rhetorically.

"I know." Jaune simply said.

"Still, there's nothing to forgive for me, I just want to... relish this moment." She said as she scooted closer to him, "So..." June began as she smiled, "Tell me about your adventures, brother." She asked of him as she leaned her head against his chest that was covered only with a blue t-shirt.

He was reminded of the time when he indulged in whatever demands she wanted him to do for her. The memories involving his youngest sister always stuck with him due to how close they became thanks to her drive to become as strong as he was. It seemed that even though she had become very a formidable warrior, she was still his little sister through and through.

With a small, faint sigh accompanied with a smile, he began with a question, "Well... where do you want me to start?"

* * *

 _The next day..._

Ruby's eyes opened wide right as soon as she stopped sleeping. She sat up, took a couple of deep breaths before she muttered, "...No dreams that time... Good..." she yawned as she stepped off the makeshift bunk bed made out of two whole single beds she 'crafted' the day before and went to the bathroom to clean up.

When she entered the bathroom, the next one to woke up was Blake, out of habit than anything. To be up right before the break of dawn no matter how late she went to sleep had been ingrained in her. When she looked at Ruby's empty bed across from her own, on top of Weiss', she was caught by surprise.

'Ruby's woken up?' she thought to herself, not expecting her younger leader to share her own habit. Then, she heard the sound of the shower being used and hoped that the girl didn't use it for too long. 'Hm... might as well go out to warm-up a bit.' She thought to herself, for once, it was because both out of habit and that she wanted to.

As she dressed herself into her white training shorts and black tank top, she thought to how her leader Ruby... seemed to be more than what she appeared.

" _Guys, how about we make the room a bit more compact?"_

She carried herself like an 'innocent maiden' archetype, almost to a T... save for the fact that her weapon was bigger than her own stature. However, Blake had learned to read body languages and what a person's eyes tell you about them and found that Ruby was slightly... off.

" _Let's make this more fun!"_

From how she behaved to the decisions she made regarding the furniture arrangement in their room, all of them felt as if she was phoning them all in, trying a bit hard to please and to make everyone either happy or not noticing what she wanted to hide by diverting their attention away.

'...Whatever it is, I hope it's not something bad.' She thought, sympathizing with Ruby because if it were true that the younger girl was hiding something, then she wasn't the only one out of the four of them all to keep secrets.

She went out, and some time later, Ruby got out, slightly freshened as she went and change her clothes into her school uniform, black suit over a red vest and a white dress shirt combined with a red plaid skirt. Ruby's personal addition to the uniform was her red hooded cloak. "Alright, that's-" she stopped when she grabbed her Scroll, looked at the time and muttered, "...Oh. Didn't know I was early..."

She heard Yang's moan as she woke up, "Ruby...? What time is it...?"

"Um... it's...six-thirty." She lied. She didn't want to make her sister ask her why she was up so early.

"Six-thirty...? But it's still dark out." She said as she began to sit herself up.

"Uh... you rarely wake up below seven-thirty, this _is_ how six-thirty looks, Yang." She tried to lie, grimacing at how bad the lie was.

"Really...? Oh, I guess I'll prepare then." Yang said as she stood up and walked towards the bathroom. She stopped to turn to Ruby and winked with a smirk on her tired-looking face before she entered the bathroom, "Watch that sunrise, Rubes."

'...Right. Yang doesn't function well when she's sleepy.' She realized before she sighed in relief. "Good, good..."

Realizing that she jumped the gun too early on the whole waking up in the morning thing as it were, she decided to sit down on one of the chairs in front of the two desks available. She sighed as she leaned back on the chair, a bit disappointed with herself, "Even if I didn't have that nightmare again, I still woke up earlier than my usual time... Well, got to take the good alongside the bad I guess..." she muttered to herself.

Moments later, even Weiss woke up. Judging by the way she grumbled her way to sitting up, it was clear to Ruby that the white-haired girl was not that much of a morning person. Still, despite that, Ruby still greeted her with a smile, "Morning."

"...You're already up?" Weiss asked, "And dressed too? ...I suppose even _you_ have some discipline." She muttered before she took a deep breath, got off the bed, walked towards the bathroom and opened the door...

Only to find Yang, sitting on the toilet, thankfully with her clothes still on, her legs spread wide, her head leaned back against nothing and her mouth open with a toothbrush sticking out of it, sleeping without a care in the world.

"...What in the world...?" Weiss muttered in disbelief as behind her, Ruby smiled/grimaced.

* * *

 _Later on..._

"Alright! First class of the year, guys!" Ruby exclaimed as she, along with her teammates walked towards their class, Grimm Studies by Professor Peter Port, "Let's get to it!"

"Don't yell in the hallway you dolt!" reprimanded Weiss, "Can't you behave like... well, like a _real_ leader?" she asked pointedly at Ruby.

Ruby simply grinned sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her neck, "Hehe, uh... I, I don't know what a real leader is like. I only know what _I_ am like, so..."

Weiss simply sighed, 'Why was it _you_ who was chosen to be the leader?' she wondered to herself, having not seen what Ozpin could have seen in her before she shook her head, "A real leader must carry themselves with grace, integrity and elegance, Ruby. Take a- Take a look at them." She ordered as she pointed at Team JNPR to their right side.

June, standing tall among her other teammates and, unlike the other girls in her team or Ruby's, chose to wear pants. A black pants that matched the color of the boys' pants instead of a red-and-black skirt, and the pants was quite fitting enough to emphasize her figure.

"Look at her, even when she's alongside Pyrrha Nikos, she still stands out." Weiss upheld June as the figure worthy of praise, "Not because she's louder than her or something like that, but because she holds herself well, and its visible. That's how you carry yourself as a leader, Ruby."

"Well, yeah, June's cool, I'll admit that." Ruby rebutted, "But... I'm not her."

That immediately stalled Weiss, and provided Yang to butt in to the conversation, "Yeah, let her be herself, _Weiss_ girl." She shot with a smirk and slight glare.

"...Ugh, was that a pun?" Weiss asked with a grimace, "Anyway, even if you're not June, _please,_ at the very least, learn from her example." She urged her leader, "She's an Arc as well, one of the most well-known families in Remnant amongst old families."

"...Come to think of it, I think I've read the name before in some history textbooks." Yang muttered, "Names from heroes and generals from a long time ago, I think? _That_ same Arc?" she asked.

Weiss growled/sighed and said, " _Yes,_ that same Arc. Their family line goes a long way back, some say that it stretched back to the eras before humanity acquired Dust. As of late, their legendary status is diminished thanks to a couple generations of their family members removing themselves from the public eye and _people who don't pay enough attention to history,_ but some people still know them as a family, a house, filled with great people who, in the past, became legends."

Blake couldn't help but to smile at that description. Having owed June a great debt thanks to her willingness to help her, she silently agreed with the Schnee, even if June was just _one_ example of the Arc family. Ruby was shocked at the late realization that they were in the company of a person with such a family while Yang simply whistled and said, "Wow, and here I thought she's just a normal girl..." Yang muttered, honestly impressed by what she now knew about June.

"A legendary family huh..." Ruby muttered before she chuckled sheepishly, "Hehe... I can't imagine what that's like. My family's pretty much normal. Well, save for the fact that our dad and uncle are both Huntsmen." She said.

Blake hummed knowingly at that statement before she added, "Being a Huntsman doesn't really yell 'normal life', does it?"

The giggle that came out of Ruby was one that seemed to be forced. "W-well, considering that we're here... I-it's not like we really want the usual, daily normal life, huh?" she asked rhetorically.

Yang simply shrugged and said; "Eh. Being normal is too overrated and boring anyway."

Then, as if on cue, they finally reached the class built like a mini half-circular amphitheater with a raised stage below that had a wooden desk and a blackboard right in front-and-center of the classroom. They took the chairs at the second lowest level while team JNPR took the chairs right beside them.

"Hey Ruby." June said as she sat at Ruby's right side.

"H-hey June." She greeted back shyly, "So, first class of the year. What do you think we'll be learning?" she asked, wanting to hold a conversation with the girl she had to physically look up to meet her eyes.

"Well, it's called Grimm Studies... I'm thinking theories mostly, unless of course the professor managed to get a live Grimm for a practical study." June answered. "Speaking of which, it doesn't look like he's here yet."

"Yeah..." Ruby agreed, "Still, it's not supposed to be for another ten minutes, so-"

As if on cue, from the door came in said Professor, dressed in his burgundy suit covering his rather portly stature. Alongside him was none other than Jaune Arc, who was carrying a menacing, rattling square-shaped cage covered in a massive purple cloth four times the size of his body, on his right shoulder.

Replacing his previous long coat/suit for the moment was a sleeveless vest of the same shade as his suit styled like a double-buttoned suit with the buttons being made out of golden coating and shaped like thin rectangles over a white dress shirt with the long sleeves rolled up just below his elbows. As he walked behind Port, past Team RWBY and JNPR, they, along with the other students, saw his retreating figure.

"Whoa, look at his as- I mean, behind..." Yang muttered, inaudible save to those who were physically close to her.

Weiss, sitting at her right, slapped Yang's right shoulder while Ruby was blushing madly and Blake simply stared in silence at what the blonde girl muttered out. The girls of Team JNPR were also looking at what Yang said, Nora out of appreciation, Pyrrha out of slight interest which led to her blushing and averting her eyes and June... well...

She shook her head fiercely after staring at it for a couple of seconds too much. Her cheeks were lit as she averted her eyes from her brother who went and put down the cage with ease as it kept on rattling, a clear indication that something alive was inside.

"Welcome, welcome students, to the Grimm Studies course!" the Professor said in a boisterous manner as he stood on the center while Jaune stood at the sideline, on the right side of the blackboard, "I am Professor Peter Port, and for the next two hours, I will educate you on everything you need to know about... Monsters!" he suddenly bellowed, earning the attention of the students, "Demons! Prowlers of the night... The Grimm have many names." He walked back and forth the raised stage, as if to dramatize his presentation, "But I like to call them... prey. Let me tell you a story... about a Huntsman named... Peter."

* * *

 _Later on..._

There had been a mass murder witnessed by all the students attending Peter Port's class. The professor was guilty of murdering the students' awareness and interest by his constant jabbering about the things he did during the days he was an active Hunter.

Grimm Studies, the study of the black-and-white monsters outside the safety of their city walls were supposed to be interesting, especially to the Huntsmen in-training who only had fought the beasts sparingly. This course was supposed to teach them the minute details of the beast, its types, its weaknesses, everything, yet now, their interest in it has been set to zero thanks to him.

'There _has_ to be some lesson that can be taken from this. There _has_ to.' Weiss thought to herself, frustrated but still taking notes of the story, stories, that she began to find as ingratiating. From his voice and the stories he was telling, everything about it felt so demoralizing for her.

She turned left and right to see what her teammates were doing... Only to find that she was the only one who was taking notes. Ruby was doodling, Yang was sleeping and Blake was just sitting and staring with unfocused eyes, looking at the front of the class while also _not_ looking at what's in front of the class.

Team JNPR, she found, wasn't that much better. The only one who was taking notes among them was Pyrrha while Nora was playing with her pencil and Ren was simply closing his eyes, either sleeping or listening intently, Weiss didn't know for sure. Even June was just leaning her left cheek on her upturned palm that was propped by her elbow on the desk, focusing not on the professor, but on her brother instead.

'...Am I, am I in the wrong here?' Weiss wondered to herself, 'Is this professor just... not competent? That there's nothing to be learned from his stories?' This wasn't what she expected from Beacon. First, the position of team leader was given to a girl who was two years younger than her, then their first lesson was being taught by a man who could possibly be the worst storyteller Weiss had ever seen?

She had heard about Vale being much more lax compared to Atlas, but this takes the cake. They were supposed to learn about the monsters they were going to fight for the sake of humanity, how could this professor teach them this way?

Still, despite her reservations, she kept on writing her note. Mostly out of habit than anything else.

"So! What is the point of all this story, you might wonder!" Peter bellowed again, "Well, the point is that in their line of duty, Huntsmen will, most of the time, face things that they were not trained or taught to handle. And as such, you must approach a problem with an open mind and improvisation. Lessons can only take you so far, after all!"

...While that was indeed a good lesson, couldn't he just have gone straight to the point? Really, what was the reasoning for going into stories of his own exploits? Despite having taken notes, she herself no longer remembered what they were without reading what she had subconsciously written.

"With that in mind...! Turn your gaze to the cage!" he said as he gestured to the still rattling cage, "What lies in there, you might ask? Well, considering where we are now, the answer should be obvious! There is a Grimm inside, what type it is will remain a secret until it is opened. Now... normally, I would ask for one of you to come and face it, but..."

The man opened his burgundy jacket and the white dress shirt he wore beneath it slightly to show something: A fresh, jagged scar on his chest that showed how deep it went, "I shan't show you the full extent of the wound, but from what you can see, it is quite gruesome, no?" he asked nonchalantly.

All the students in the class, without exception, grimaced at the sight. It was red, deep, and jagged, ugly was an appropriate word to describe the scar. Even Blake, no stranger to wounds and the resulting scars, couldn't help but to wince, having an inkling about how much it hurt and subsequently, her respect for the man increased quite a bit.

"For your safety, you will not be facing the Grimm." Peter said before he raised his right hand and pointed its index finger up. "And considering that I am still not in top-shape... Professor Arc will do it." He gestured to the much taller man on the stage.

Both Peter and Jaune looked at each other for a moment before the latter nodded and began to walk to the cage with a purposeful gait. He stood in front of it, looked at it for a second before he rolled up his sleeves and then swiftly removed the cover, showing the Grimm within.

It was a Beowolf the size of its usual Alpha, covered from head to toe in white bone plating as if it were a suit of armor, chained and muzzled, but very much enraged and ready to fight. Its sheer size was such that it towered over Jaune despite it sitting down, and he simply stared back at its menacing red eyes with apathetic, cold blue eyes. Despite the difference in their size, Jaune did not look afraid nor eager, he was almost expressionless.

The same couldn't be said for the students. They knew of Beowolves before, but this one, with its size and the fact that it was covered with hard bone plating with barely any weak spots visible at a glance, was something else entirely.

"I-I've never seen Grimm so fully armored before..." Weiss muttered in slight shock, a sentiment shared by everyone there save for the two on the stage.

"Grimms such as these are rare, thank J... Oum, for that." Peter informed them, "However, so are Grimm presence these days. What you might not have heard is that there are cases where Grimms similar to this one were seen. They tend to be loners like this one was when I found him. The chance to see them is very, very rare... But it does happen if one is willing enough or... suicidal enough to look for them." He said, earning a collective shudder from all the students in the class, "Now, Mr. Arc, do as you must."

Jaune nodded and wordlessly, he unlocked the cage and opened it. Now all that's left to contain the beast were the chains and the muzzle... the former of which Jaune broke with a single squeeze.

It moved fast as it tried to sink its claws onto Jaune, but he responded with a backhand that hit its cheek, utterly destroying the muzzle and the bone plating there and causing it to fall on its back. His next step was to slowly walk towards it and stomp its chest. At first, it tried to move, but from its mouth, the sound of a struggling grunt came out, indicating that it tried, but Jaune was like an immovable object to it.

"At first glance, it might appear that its body is covered from head to toe." Jaune began to speak, "However, because it is a direct protrusion from its own body, it will, naturally, have gaps in its armor. Most obvious places to look for are the joints." He then yanked the Grimm's hand and pulled it up so fast that it howled in pain, "For example: Elbows. Wrists. Finger joints, these are the weak spots on its arms. Then we move to its abdomen. Due to its segmented placing, it's vulnerable to a sharp enough blade at the hands of a capable swordsman. Anyone here can tell me what other weak spots it could have?" he asked the class, who was rendered silent. The sight of him nonchalantly handling the massive Beowolf without a weapon was quite... profound, to say the least. It awed, shocked and terrified them all in equal measure.

"Anyone?" Jaune called out, "Is there anyone who wants to tell me what other possible weak spots it could have?" he asked again with a louder voice.

After a second, a voice answered, "What about its junk?" asked the voice of a big young man.

"Crass, but understandable. Mr. Winchester, right? Tell me, what do you see on its crotch?" Jaune asked, "Anyone see a weak spot? No? Of course you don't, there's a bone plating shaped like a codpiece on it, it's not a weak spot, not even if you apply blunt trauma because they lack the sensitive organs called genitals. Any other takers?"

"Uh, its butt?" a girl asked this time, a short girl with ginger-colored hair.

In response, Jaune easily flipped the beast over and held it down on its back with his feet in one quick motion, and lo and behold, "The posterior, a soft, open target, good of you to notice, Ms. Valkyrie." He said, earning him some chuckles around the class, "It's vulnerable, but not a weak spot, they can just shrug off your attacks there. Anyone else?"

"Its neck." Said another short girl, this time the one who added a red hooded cloak on top of the usual Beacon uniform.

"The most glaringly obvious one, but you forgot one small detail, Ms. Ruby Rose." Jaune said as he tapped on the beast's back, "Only its front part is vulnerable, the back is protected by bone plating mimicking a spinal cord, so don't attack it from the back unless you're packing enough of a punch to make a difference." He answered before he asked, "Anyone wants to answer more?"

"Its eyes, its nostrils and the inside of its mouth." Answered June.

"Three for one, very good, Ms. June." Jaune said, using her sister's first name before he flipped it vertically so that its head was now facing the students. As Jaune held it down with his feet, he pried open the Beowolf's mouth, "Save for its teeth and its spiky tongue, the inside of its mouth is quite a soft target. Then, their nostrils and eyes are just two targets out in the open, the latter of which could cripple its combat capability if hit."

Jaune then let go of the beast's mouth and said; "So as you can see, though armored, it doesn't mean that they are invulnerable. Weak spots are easy to spot if you know where to look, so always analyze your enemy before attacking. If you can do so beforehand with prior information, then all the better, but if you don't have that luxury, then as Professor Port say; improvise, but make sure you're learned enough as preparation goes a long way to help you."

With that said, he looked at Port, both of them sharing a silent conversation before Port nodded, essentially allowing him to do what's to come. Jaune turned to the students and said, "Now, I hope you've written most, if not all of this in your notes."

He saw that many of them began to write down what had been showcased for them today, prompting him to wait for a couple of seconds before he nodded and continued, "Right then. With that, this session is now over." As soon as he said that, he moved his hands to grab on to the Armored Beowolf's head by its snout and the back of its head and in a split-second, twist it 180 degrees with such strength and speed that he not only broke its neck, but also pulled its head off clean from its neck complete with the sound of flesh being torn apart and bone being twisted into coming off so quickly.

Some of the students screamed in shock at the spectacle, not expecting the swift and rather brutal way the Grimm was finished off. The feat was like the stories of really, really old heroes who were considered as legends, capable of superhuman feats, such as killing massive Grimm with their bare hands.

Weiss was the one who screamed the loudest, hearing and seeing something alive being torn apart so easily, even if it was a Grimm, was quite shocking for her. She was shocked at how strong the man was, certainly, but there was awe in her eyes as well. Yang could only mouth out a 'whoa...' without actually voicing it out loud, her lilac eyes wide and in slight disbelief, but there was awe there too, after all, having experienced and seen the man's power, she kind of expected this to happen.

Blake was torn between sheer awe and terror at how easily Jaune did so, a part of her felt that, though it was swift, it was still brutal while another part of her felt that it was the manliest, most attractive thing she had ever seen a man do, most of it came from her primal instinct, this she knew. Ruby was stunned beyond words, impressed by what she saw and actually shivered when it happened. Whether it was because of fear or something else, she did not know, for her emotions were all jumbled up.

Ren was silent with his eyes wide, seeing, but having a hard time believing what he had just seen. Nora's mouth was formed into an 'o' shape and she was, for once, silent as her hyperactive mind was digesting what she had just seen with slight difficulty. Pyrrha's subconscious had actually made her right hand move to cover her mouth at the swift, precise, brutal, yet also humane-in-a-way method Jaune chose to dispatch the Grimm. The redhead, in curiosity, turned to see her partner and what she thought of what her brother did...

Only to see her smiling proudly at her brother. With a closer look however, there was also a sense of sadness there, something that Pyrrha didn't-

" _How are you still so far away?"_

Pyrrha remembered then that June was trying to catch up to her brother, and seeing this made her partner feel conflicted. On one hand, she's proud that her brother was strong, but on the other hand, it was a reminder that she still had a long way to go. Subconsciously, Pyrrha grasped her partner's shoulder and squeezed it slightly. June smiled as she nodded in silent thanks, and Pyrrha's smile had never been wider then.

As the Grimm's body and its head on Jaune's hand dispersed into black and white particles, the bell rung, signalling the end of the class, prompting Port to say, "Alright then, that's it for today, class! Remember what you've learned today, for it will be useful to you in the future! We'll see you on the next Grimm Studies Class!"

The students trickled out, most of them having already gotten over the brutality of what they saw and had become impressed with the newest professor's presentation, speaking of him in tone full of either reverence, respect and/or awe.

"That. Was... Awesome..." Nora said, surprisingly with a rather even tone of voice filled with reverence. "I mean, the way he just tore its head off is just so..." Nora sighed in slight bliss, "Ren... I think I'm in love."

The rest of team JNPR, -save for June who was narrowing her eyes at her teammate-, and team RWBY looked at Nora with concern at the statement she made, and Ren, being the good friend he was, said; "Above everything, save for pancakes, Nora values strength. Be it of character or physical."

"Ah, so seeing Jaune's tearing a Beowolf's head off with his bare hands made her fall in love, huh?" Yang asked with raised eyebrows, "Heh, it sounds like you're one of those women from the old stories, you know, warrior women who'd only bed men who's proven their strength to them?"

"Well, that's what we Valkyries are known for!" Nora said, "It's genetic you know, I can't help it if I like to see or do some limb breaking action here and there." Nora shrugged. "Still, your brother's so awesome, June! He's like a real-life superhero!" she gushed about Jaune to his sister.

"He... kind of is." June had to admit as she stared at Nora with an inscrutable gaze, "Anyway... all that aside, what uh, what do you guys think about that? Weiss, I heard your scream there, you were the loudest I think." She said to the white-haired student.

"A-ah... It was just quite surprising. I didn't expect him to finish the Grimm in such a way." Weiss answered, slightly embarrassed that she was caught by June, "It didn't mean that I'm scared of your brother now, mind you, it's just... I've never seen such brutality before."

"Never made a pincushion out of a Grimm using that rapier of yours, Snow Weiss?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow.

"...I... _lack_..." it looked like she was swallowing a bitter bile when she said the word 'lack', "Real combat experience." She admitted, "I've faced Grimm before, but... only... in simulations... Which were _very_ realistic and I have mastered every possible ones available, mind you!" she defended herself, "I eliminated the Grimm there with ease, and before I departed for Vale to take the test, I fought a real foe that... left this scar on me." She traced the vertical scar from a cut that was on her left eye, "But other than that... I have never faced a real Grimm before. I thought I'd get my chance in the Emerald Forest, but... the one that we face was... _that_."

The gigantic black wolf of a Grimm. Big, fast, and no doubt lethal, something beyond their level. With that explanation, everyone understood Weiss' reasoning, and thus, they decided to drop the topic as they went their way towards the canteen.

Not long after, both teams were sitting on the same table sitting facing each other with their food and drink in front of them. The five biggest eaters of the group were, from the most consuming to the least of the biggest eaters, Nora, Ruby, June, Pyrrha and Yang while the rest were more conservative with their portion of food.

After finishing their meals, Ruby was the first one to speak, "Right! Soooo... with us being a joint team and all, I want us to talk, interact with each other, starting from now!" she suddenly declared, "Anyone want to start?"

"That... came out of nowhere, Rubes." Yang remarked, a bit surprised before she shrugged, "But I guess I'll start. June." She called the leader of the other team as Yang rest her chin on her upturned right hand, "wanna spar sometime? Maybe if Jaune ended up ordering us to, can I get dibs?" she challenged.

In response to that, June simply smirked and asked, "Barehanded or using weapons?"

"Either way is fine." Yang answered with a shrug, "No limits for Semblance usage though. That force field of yours looks pretty wicked, and if it functions the way I think it is, I think mine is a good counter for it."

"Really? What's yours?" asked June, curious and interested.

"Oh it's a surprise. Until we spar for real, I'm not going to tell you what it is." Yang answered.

"Hm..." June narrowed her eyes at Yang as she began to speculate what it was before she shrugged, "Alright. Still, why are you so interested?"

"Your brother's strong." Yang answered, "Really, _really_ strong... I want to see if you share that strength too."

"...His strength? No." June immediately answered, catching everyone else by surprise, "I can't match him then or now, and in raw power, I doubt that I'll _ever_ get to his level... But that's without my Semblance. With it, I have a chance to do that."

"Heh." Yang grinned in approval. June had character, confident and determination, she's more than just a pretty face with a great body, "Alright then, I hope you don't disappoint, June."

"Right back at you, Yang." June shot back.

There was a moment of silence for a couple of seconds before Ruby broke it, "Alright, this is going well, guys! Anyone else wants to-?"

"H-hey! Stop that!"

The sound of a girl begging interrupted Ruby as she, her teammates and Team JNPR looked at where it came from, resulting in them seeing a brown rabbit faunus having her ears pulled by an armor-wearing crew-cut-haired first year they've seen once or twice before.

"Heh, I _told_ you they were real!" said Cardin Winchester to three other boys who were his teammates on Team CRDL as he squeezed the girl's brown rabbit ears and pulling on them.

The action was seen by everyone in the canteen, including Team RWBY and JNPR, who were now sporting a disgusted expression directed at Cardin for what he was doing. "So he's a racist, huh?" June asked out loud with her eyes narrowed.

"Typical 'jock dude' type, bullying someone most people won't help..." Yang muttered in displeasure.

"Permission to break his arms and legs, team leader?" Nora asked with a voice that did not sound ecstatic, but nevertheless there was an eagerness in her tone of voice.

"Nora..." Ren warned.

"Let's all calm down." Pyrrha said, "Let's call one of the professors first before we do anything rash." She said, being the voice of reason.

"There's not one of them here." Blake said as she looked around.

"Well that doesn't mean that we should just step in." Weiss said, "Not that I approve of his behavior, bullying is disgraceful, no matter who your target is, but causing another trouble to stop a previous one isn't the right way to do things."

"...Well _someone_ has to step in." Ruby said with determination before she began to stand up.

"No." June said as she grabbed the younger girl's shoulder and pushed them down while she stood up, "I'll do it." She said as she walked towards Cardin and his team.

She approached the team and cleared her throat, earning their attention, "Excuse me, can't help but notice that you're making a scene here, can you stop doing that?" she asked nicely with a smile though her eyes betrayed what she wanted him to do.

"Heh, or what?" asked Cardin as he let go of the rabbit faunus' ears and changing his target to June, "You're going to report us to your brother?"

"Considering what he showed you before, do you _really_ think that's a good insult?" June asked with a deadpan voice.

Cardin was stumped by that question. He did indeed see what Jaune did, and realized that it wasn't a good insult, "L-look," he diverted the topic in an attempt to save face, "Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong okay? You don't scare us."

"That's because you haven't been beaten up by me." Was June's retort, "You're all uninformed. Want me to impart that particular information to you?" she asked with a smirk. "Go ahead, try and grab the girl's ears again or come at me, see where those options take you." She challenged.

Cardin's left eye twitched. She wasn't intimidated by his size nor the fact that she was outnumbered. With a smirk, he then shoved June back a couple of steps, "I doubt you're gonna-"

Air was violently pushed out of him when June charged and shoved him with a powerful push she did with her palm on his abdomen and sending him flying for at least five meters and ended up with him crashing onto a table before falling to the ground.

His teammates, caught off-guard by what happened, tried to retaliate back... But a glare from June stopped them as she said; "Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark, right? Come on. Come at me." She challenged.

"Y-you sent him flying!" said Russel, the one with a mohawk.

"Why?! Why do you care about this freak anyway?!" asked the one whose overall theme was the color bronze, presumably Dove.

"...Freak, huh?" June asked before she went at Dove and smack him with the back of her right hand... which was coated with her Semblance, and thus amplifying the force, "Say that again."

Dove couldn't do as she asked... Because he was knocked out.

"Any other variation of that word from the two of you?" she asked Russel and Sky who shook their heads frantically, "Good. Now take your leader and your friend here and leave." She ordered before she raised her hand up and let her Semblance flicker, "Or else..."

"Or else what, June?" asked Jaune as he walked towards them.

"B-bro-! I mean, P-professor Arc!" June turned 180, literally and figuratively as she faced her brother, "H-how long have you-?"

"Just now. Professor Goodwitch, however..." he gestured to what's behind him, and they saw as the unconscious Cardin and Dove were being lifted up by an invisible force with Glynda Goodwitch herself standing quite far away with a glare sent to the rest of the members of Team CRDL, "She saw everything from the start to finish."

Jaune turned to the now pale Russel and Sky and said; "So don't try to lie your way out of this. Professor Goodwitch will take care of you, so follow her." He said, to which the two conscious members of Team CRDL could only nod before they left the premises in embarrassment. "Are you alright, Ms. Velvet Scarlatina?" Jaune asked the rabbit faunus.

"I-I'm fine, thank you." Said the rabbit faunus girl, Velvet Scarlatina, with a slight blush on her face, "I-it's okay, it no longer hurts now, so..."

"Are you sure? I know that rabbit ears can be very sensitive." June asked.

"Indeed, do you need to go to the infirmary or do you have a balm prepared?" Jaune asked.

"You're really alright, right? You didn't just say that because you don't want to make it inconvenient for us?" June asked again.

"Please, if you're still in pain, do tell me, it's part of my job to make sure every students are taken care of."

"Yeah, and if there's anything I can help you with, anything at all-"

" **Just tell us."**

Facing the two very attractive tall blondes being so genuinely nice and so close to her made Velvet's blush even more prominent as she cast her head down and let the proverbial steam rose out of her, "T-t-thank you for your concern, b-but I'm fine. R-really." She said with complete honesty.

At that Jaune nodded, "Very well then."

"If you say so." June said right afterwards before she extended her hand towards Velvet, "I'm June Arc, by the way. Nice to meet you Velvet."

"N-nice to meet you as well." Velvet reciprocated the gesture with a bashful smile.

"Ms. Scarlatina here is in her second year, June. She's your upperclassman." Jaune said.

"...Eh? Then why didn't you defend yourself back there?" June asked, "The jerks are in their first year, you could've taken them."

"I... I don't want to cause any trouble." Answered Velvet.

"Understandable, but Ms. Scarlatina, as long as you did not instigate it, Beacon's teaching staff is willing to see it as an act of self-defense." Jaune said.

"Even so... Fighting other students is something I never want to do if I can avoid it." Velvet said with quite a resolved look on her face, "Not saying that I didn't appreciate your intervention, June, but..." she trailed off before she said; "Fighting back in situations like this must always be a last resort for me."

At that, Jaune and June smiled, "Very commendable, Ms. Scarlatina." Said Jaune, "Very well then. I'll take my leave for now. Stay safe, miss. Ms. Arc, this is your first warning. Please don't do this again."

"Got it, stay safe to you too, _Professor_ Arc." June said as her brother walked away. She turned to Velvet and asked, "Do you want to sit with my team? We still have an empty spot."

"Thank you for the offer, really, but I'm going to reserve a table for my team." Velvet said.

"Oh. Well alright then. See you later, Velvet." June said as she walked back to her table, leaving the smiling rabbit faunus behind.

Later on, when Velvet was eating at an empty table, her team finally came and sat down. The look on her face must've telegraphed what she was thinking as her team leader then asked her, "You look really happy. Did something good happen?"

Velvet faced her leader and with a beatific, joyful smile, she answered, "Something like that. I'll tell you about it later, Coco."

* * *

 _Five minutes before 3 P.M..._

"This is a _really_ deep basement." Remarked Yang as the joint team of RWBY and JNPR, all dressed in their casual clothes and bringing their personal weapons, descended into the bowels of their Academy through the elevator which was located at a more remote location from the main areas

"I didn't even know that Beacon goes this deep down." Weiss said as the elevator continued to move.

"Well, Beacon is supposedly built on top of a shelter built into the cliff it stands on." Ruby said, "Though I don't know if that's true, I just read it from the internet."

"Well, here comes the floor we're supposed to go to..." June trailed off as they felt the elevator slowing down, and when it stopped, she said, "Let's see..." as the elevator door opened and showed them a hallway that led to a partly opened steel door.

"This... does look like a bunker." Blake commented as she looked around, "Maybe that _is_ what this floor is supposed to be."

"I agree, it does look very familiar." Weiss remarked, "I've been to a couple of bunkers before, and I think Vale shares Atlas' architecture style when it comes to building bunkers." She said, agreeing with Blake, who, like Weiss, had seen bunkers from both Atlas and Vale.

Knowing that she and Weiss shared a similar experience and ended up agreeing on them halted Blake's thinking processes. She frowned as she was at a loss as to what she should feel about that before she shook her head, 'No, no, don't fall into that hole of blind hatred again.' She reminded herself, mentally chiding herself for almost slipping into the extreme 'Hate all Schnees and everything they make or say' mindset of the Blake that was unquestioningly loyal to the White Fang.

"If so, then this must be the way in." Said Yang as they arrived at the door and she opened the door wide. "...Whoa."

They were greeted by a really wide, circular-shaped open area surrounded by walls that were topped with a domed ceiling that can house hundreds of people densely packed together to completely fill it up. It was many times the size of the school's ballroom where they spent the night on the night before initiation test, and it was clear now that this was a bunker, albeit a rather dimly-lit one.

"It's so big!" Nora exclaimed in glee as she entered, followed by everyone else, "And my voice can echo!" The word 'echo' echoed everywhere in the massive arena.

"...Such size! To think an area like this exist beneath Beacon..." Weiss muttered, very much impressed as it again reminded her of one of the bunkers in SDC.

"It reminds me of The Colosseums in Mistral." Pyrrha said in awe, "Except they were all located outdoors, unlike this one."

"A wide open area... Alright, this means that we're going to be trained hard." June said as she cracked her knuckles.

"How do you figure that?" Yang asked.

"My father's method of training: If there's an open area, we're going to spar non-stop until I collapse and repeat it ad infinitum as my recovery time and endurance improves along the way." June answered.

"...Jeez, that's harsh." Yang commented with a grimace.

"Hey, it was all to make me strong, so I didn't mind." June said with a shrug.

Blake had been silent, as usual, but it wasn't because she was in awe. It was because she smelled something familiar in the environment, something that put her on edge. 'It smells familiar, but what is it...?' she wondered as she kept an eye out for anything that was amiss.

"...Where's Professor Arc?" asked Ren as he looked around.

"Well, it's not 3 P.M. yet." Pyrrha reminded Ren. "Let's wait until-"

The sound of something hard being tapped on the concrete ground echoed, but due to the close proximity of the source, they immediately located it, which was right behind them, and prompted them to turn back.

They were immediately paralyzed. They saw a woman with a short stature dressed in a three-piece suit with predominantly black, white and pink colors along with a black bowler hat with a red band on top of her brown-and-pink hair that reached her upper back. She stood there with a pair of judging hetero-chromatic brown and pink eyes, a cocky smile on her face and a parasol with its upper tip stabbing the floor while her left hand rested on its upturned cane-like grip.

Behind her however was the reason why they were paralyzed: The massive black wolf Grimm they've faced before, much smaller in stature than before, with its height now 7'5 feet/2.26 meters tall and 21 feet/6.4 meters long, effectively halved from its previous size. Despite that, it was still intimidating with its eyes having black scleras and red irises looking at them.

"I-it's here! How?!" Ruby shouted as they all prepared themselves for a battle. "M-miss, get away from that wolf!" she yelled to the short woman in front of the large wolf.

"The wolf is of no danger to her or you, Ruby." Jaune's voice echoed as he, wearing his longcoat, suddenly appeared from behind the wolf like a movie character walking into the frame. Accompanying him was Glynda, both of them appeared walked side-by-side as they went to stand right beside the short woman. "He's not hostile."

The wolf huffed as he tilted his head up slightly in a quick motion, as if saying hello to them without speaking.

"...Why is it smaller?" asked Nora with a frown.

As if responding directly to that, the wolf took a deep breath as its body rippled, then they saw as it slowly returned to its previous size, twice the size of its smaller form.

"Another lesson in Grimm Study: Grimm can shapeshift." Jaune said, earning a wide-eyed look from them, "Though he," he pointed to the wolf, "said that if you're not a Molted One, the process needs to be done by an external force. Like their death for example."

Glynda then spoke, "Three o'clock on the dot. Your punctuality is appreciated. Now," the steel door from which the two teams used to enter suddenly closed with a lot of force that seemed as if it was pushed by someone or something invisible, "it's time for explanations. But firstly, we want to introduce you to her." She gestured to the young woman with the bi-colored hair.

"Her name is Neopolitan." Jaune said as Neo waved at them, "And before anyone asked, she has asked me to tell you that she'll be silent not because she's mute." she smirked as he continued; "It's because she'll only talk to people she really likes or respects, and right now, you're just strangers to her."

"Still, she'll also be teaching you alongside us in these sessions." Glynda picked up, "Professor Arc will handle the channeling. Miss Neo will handle the application while I supervise to fill in the gaps." She explained cryptically. "The wolf is here simply to observe."

"W-what are you talking about?" Ruby asked, "Channeling? Application? Gaps? What do you mean by all that?" the look on the others' faces mirrored Ruby's as they were filled with confusion and slight trepidation.

Glynda, Neo, and even the wolf looked at Jaune, causing him to glance at them for a second before he nodded, prompting them, save the wolf, to approach the two teams... And summoned their respective Mantles.

Jaune's white cape billowed despite the fact there were no winds. An inch above Glynda's forehead, a purple-colored hard-light shaped like an eye three times the size of her normal ones appeared. From Neo's body, fragments of mirrors that constantly changed its shape as if it were clear mercury appeared, reflecting the wide-eyed look from both teams as they saw the constructs formed by their respective Mantles.

"We have what is named by Professor Goodwitch here as... Mantle." Jaune answered, "It is the manifestation of one's soul, at least a tier above Semblance. And I believe all of you possess it too."

"Team RWBY, Team JNPR... Welcome to Mantle Course 101."

* * *

 **To be continued...**

* * *

 **And that is it for this chapter, Team RWBY and JNPR will get their Mantles and Glynda and Neo's are shown. Neo with her amorphous mirrors and Glynda with her Third Eye. As to what the others' Mantles are, they all will be revealed in due time.**

 **P.S.: Sorry for the long gap between the last update and this one. Early to mid December was a really busy time for me, and I had to forgo writing for a while. I'm back now, and hopefully I'll be able to write more everyday to make up for what I've neglected for a long while.**


	12. Mantling Up

**Disclaimer:** No, I do not own RWBY.

* * *

When she had nothing, she met Roman. He offered her shelter, daily food, education and a whole lot of other stuff she missed out on thanks to her living conditions. In exchange for all that, all he asked was for her to be loyal, to follow him no matter what. Do that, and she'll be taken care of.

" _So whaddya say?"_

There was no reason to say no. Though skeptical at first, she knew she had made the right choice when Roman continuously proved her initial skepticism wrong at every turn. He gave her everything she had missed out on and for that, he earned her gratitude and loyalty. They became friends, confidant, the #1 and #2, she did a lot of jobs for him, he gave her everything with benefits.

So seeing him lying on the puddle of his own blood that leaked out from a hole that went through him and leaving it empty that day made her feel weak. She had left him for dead at the hands of a mysterious assailant that turned out to have been planning it from the start.

She swore to pay his death back in full, and so it started this quest for revenge. However, first day in, she found herself at a loss. Roman's gang was left in disarray. Despite her being his #2, she was incapable of drawing them back to the fold, not when Dea Family and Il Diavoli began to encroach on his former territories and recruited his former members.

Once again, she was left alone... At least, that was what she first thought before Jaune came along that night and offered him a connection.

" _I know someone who can give you information. It's very likely that you have to work for him, to get what you want. Quid pro quo and all that. But he's a man that can be relied on to reciprocate when you give him what he wants."_

" _...Sounds like my kind of man. Who is he?"_

" _Ozpin."_

The Headmaster of Beacon. Of course, considering that Beacon is not an ordinary school, Huntsmen, after all, deals with more than just education, so a Headmaster to a Huntsman Academy would have quite an influence. She agreed, and that was that... Until she found out what the exchange was.

" _So you're saying that now I have some sort of... Super-Semblance?"_

" _It's called a Mantle, and yes. Have you ever tried using your Semblance again? Did you feel anything different?"_

" _...Now that I think about it..."_

She remembered that she had seen glimpses of... mirrors? She couldn't really tell, but something mirror-like coming out of her body at times when she used her Semblance since Jaune healed her.

" _Is this it? Is this what my Mantle is?"_

" _I believe so. Now comes the matter of harnessing it."_

" _...Hm..."_

With her interest piqued and Jaune offering to train her, she took it like a four-year old kid riding a two-wheeled bike. It was difficult at first, she hurt herself quite a bit due to the nature of her Mantle, but she got a hold of it quickly and was well on her way on mastering it.

Everything went well, Ozpin gave her information she needed, leads that she checked for who the possible killers could be, she was training to master her newly-augmented power to prepare for the confrontation against whoever it was that killed Roman. Everything was going great.

 _Then_ she was asked to assist Jaune and the frigid Deputy Headmistress to teach a couple of inexperienced kids who possessed Mantles.

...If there was one good point about it, there was a chance for her to be a drill sergeant to the Huntsmen-in-training. She was anything but dishonorable with her contract, so she'd do just that.

After all, these were just all steps to fulfill her promise for revenge. She'd dealt with boring unpleasantness before when she was with Roman, she can deal with it now. Plus, Jaune'll be her partner for the whole thing, so that was good. She just wished she didn't have to share it with the frigid, yet undoubtedly powerful woman.

* * *

 **Mantling Up**

* * *

"W-wait a minute, hold up!" June said, "What's a Mantle and what do you mean that we may have it too?" she asked, a bit bewildered by the sudden turn of events. "A-and, how do you even know that?" how indeed? Considering that they themselves had no idea that there was even something more powerful than a Semblance.

"...I suppose it's time for a little bit of truth." Jaune said, "I'm the first one in history to acquire this Mantle. Professor Goodwitch named it from the form it took, which is what you're seeing now." He pointed at the billowing white cape, "It's not just your soul manifested itself as a power which is what a Semblance is, but your soul made physical. It comes as not just powers, but also constructs. For example, Professor Goodwitch has her third eye, and her Semblance of telekinesis is enhanced to its logical extreme." He said as he gestured to the Headmistress.

"Logical extreme...?" Blake muttered, "What does that mea-"

" _The description of telekinesis is a psychic power that allows one to grasp over matter with one's mind."_ Glynda's voice echoed on their ears yet they saw that she was quite a bit away from them and that she was not moving her mouth, _"It is the power to 'touch' things and make them move. So to enhance it to its logical extreme... is to allow me to feel and control the surroundings as if everything around me were a part of my body. When it was just a Semblance, I can only 'touch', but not 'feel', and I can only 'touch' what I can see. Now? I see, hear and feel everything with my power, and I can control every and any part of my surroundings as easy as I can rotate my hand. How do you think I am able to speak to all of you now, when my lips were not moving at all? How did you think I could lift off Mr. Winchester and Mr. Bronzewing without even a flick of my riding crop before? In fact, I shall be truthful to you... Your emotions, your thoughts, I can feel them all when I allow myself to."_

The still stern-looking Headmistress then floated off the ground with ease as she crossed her arms. Her eyes, all three of them, looked down on them almost to the point of being emotionless. The look on their eyes were of realization that her Deputy Headmistress didn't only have telekinesis, but also telepathy at the level where once can say that it was magic.

"T-that...!" Weiss couldn't fully digest the fact that something so close to, if not actually was, magic, exist, and while the sentiment was shared by the others, Weiss was the only one who could say a comprehensible word out of her mouth.

"However, rest assured, I can limit my range when I want to." Glynda said with her mouth this time, "I will not infringe upon anyone's privacy. Even now, I'm limiting how much I can read from all of you. I know how powerful I've become, and as such, I shall use it responsibly." Glynda then turned to Jaune and silently gave him back the rein.

"Thank you for the demonstration, Professor Goodwitch. Moving on to Neo." said woman waved at them with a menacing-looking smile, "Her Semblance involved light, which she mostly used to create illusions or mirages, which was how she was able to hide herself and the wolf from you before." He said before he added, "Only another animal or a faunus with a sharp sense of smell could sense her."

Blake's eyes widened in shocked realization, and from her peripheral vision, she saw June stealthily looking at her. 'I almost outed myself if I had told them.' She let out a small huff of relief at that.

"When it became a Mantle, she's now able to create these amorphous mirrors, and her control of light is enhanced to the point that she can create hard light constructs."

Neo followed that statement by upturning her right palm and summoned, with a bright flash, a small sword that looked as if it was made out of glass that, when she moved it around, caused the shades of the rainbow to appear on its surface. She then stabbed it to the concrete ground and it passed through it like butter before it shattered into particles of light that dimmed and went out so quickly.

"She's still new at this, but she's already created techniques for her Mantle that she used to do with her Semblance, and she theorized that she can even create heat lasers." Jaune said before he added, "Which she's still working on. For now though, what she is here for is to help you get used to your Mantle and spur your creativity as to how it can be used."

Then, it all came down to Jaune to explain what his Mantle is, "My Mantle is this white cape, which is admittedly underwhelming in appearance compared to Professor Goodwitch and Neo's. What I have as a result is power."

When there was a short moment of silence, one of the eight students couldn't help but to ask, "W-what kind of power?" Ruby asked with a slightly raised hand.

"Raw power." Was Jaune's simple answer, "I don't have the dramatic spectacle like Neo or Professor Goodwitch's versatility and range, but I have strength, speed, stamina, durability and physical senses that are higher than anyone else's."

"Which is putting it mildly." Glynda remarked with a scoff.

"Glynda." Jaune said, as if chiding her.

"Do be graceful to yourself, Jaune. You deserve to uphold yourself a bit, considering your power and what you've accomplished." She said to Jaune, chiding him back.

Neo then responded by making one of her amorphous mirrors formed itself into a long rectangle and created bright writing in sliding form that said to the eight students; _She's saying that he's not doing himself justice by being too modest._

"You too?" Jaune asked Neo in slight exasperation, to which, she responded by making another slide.

 _Hey, I'm calling it as it is. Your strength is something else, give yourself more credit._

"She's right you know." Glynda said, agreeing with Neo.

"...Good grief... Fine." Jaune sighed before he turned to the others and said; "Ozpin has said that my Mantle is like a WMD." He said before he elaborated, "Weapon of Mass Destruction. He basically equated my power to world-destroying weapons, and I do admit that I have caused quite a bit of stir back when I was a Wandering Huntsman."

'He was a Wandering Huntsman once?' was the thought that passed through the students' minds, knowing them as Hunters or Huntress who were simply out to kill Grimm in the Wilds, sanctified missions or not.

"That is to say, he is the cause as to why Grimm presence is on an all-time low." Glynda interrupted.

"...WHAT?!" yelled all the students without exceptions as Ren also yelled the word out loud. It was the loudest they have ever heard the boy speak.

"You just _had_ to do that, didn't you?" Jaune asked Glynda, to which the Headmistress simply shrugged.

" _Someone_ has to acknowledge your deeds and speak the truth of it. If it's not you, then I'll do it in your stead." She smiled and added, " It's not like you don't deserve it, Jaune."

He then felt Neo tapping him on his side with her umbrella, prompting him to turn, and he saw how she was a bit wide-eyed at that and causing him to sigh and said; "Yes, I am the cause of that..." he admitted before he added, "And that is why you're all here now." He declared as he get to the truth of the matter.

Suddenly, everyone felt tense as Jaune began to speak, "I'll be blunt and get to the point: The Grimm is not gone. Most of them went underground or to the sea floor, away from the Wilds and humanity as a whole, do you know why?" he asked rhetorically as he then answered it himself, "Because I scared them."

Such a statement, if it had come out from anyone else, would earn them a dismissive attitude from those who heard it. However, all of them in the room knew or have an idea as to how strong Jaune was, and the statement was immediately regarded seriously.

"And when an animal gets scared, it runs away, it retreats... And the Grimm did the same thing. However, I've put them into a corner. I've killed so many of them that they retreated into their corners, afraid, and right now, they are preparing themselves."

"Preparing? Grimm don't..." Yang trailed off, seemingly unable to finish that sentence for a while, "Grimm don't do something like that. What could they be preparing for?"

His response was swift, "What do cornered animals do against whatever pushed them there?" he asked.

"...They retaliate." Ren answered, horrified, "You're thinking that they're preparing for war."

"...War? Seriousl- war?! They're Grimm for Oum's sake!" Weiss yelled out loud, "Grimm don't think, let alone prepare for war! And even if they're preparing to fight back, they're not strong enough to-"

"Weiss." June said, stopping the girl in her tracks, "Stop that. You're scared, I get that, but let's not assume things and ramble."

Weiss, chided by June but still a bit flustered, turned to Jaune and asked, "How-how do you know this anyway?! What's your source?!"

"Someone I and Ozpin can trust with her reports. She's been observing them for quite a while after I made them run." He answered, "Don't think too lowly of the Grimm, Ms. Schnee. They're more than just creatures of hate."

In response to that, the gigantic wolf that had been content staying back behind the three Mantle-users let out a rumbling noise from his throat, prompting Jaune to say, "He can attest to that."

"Innddeeed."

The wolf's voice sent shivers down the students' spine and Weiss, thoroughly chastised, could only look down, as she silently admitted that before her, lies the proof that Grimm are more than just mindless beasts. They were an entity unto themselves, an entity that can think, an entity that might be preparing for war.

"So... why us?" asked Ruby, "Why do you believe that we have this Mantle and... why do you want _us_ to prepare for this... Grimm war?"

"...A Mantle is something that I'm still trying to understand myself." Answered Jaune, "I don't know how it came to be, but what I do know is that it is powerful... and that I can impart it to others."

June's eyes widened as she and Blake were the first ones to realize the implication of his words, "Wait, when did you do that?" she asked, "Was it... Was it during that initiation test?"

"Yes." Jaune answered with a nod before he glanced at Ruby with a pointed look, and after a second, June realized that Ruby was not defeated the same way everyone got defeated in the initiation test, which meant Jaune already did that to her way before he did it to the others during the chaos in the Industrial District.

"...Why?" Ren asked, "Why us of all people?"

Jaune was aware that he was putting quite a lot of responsibility on them, but nevertheless, he kept his calm and answered, "Three reasons: One. Among everyone else in your year, you all hold the most potential, in talent, skill and Semblance abilities. Secondly, a Mantle is a game-changer, I want to recruit people whose egos can be kept in check yet also possess Semblances that can become powerful Mantles, such as June's and Ruby's. Finally, the main reason as to why this is a necessity: I can't work alone."

He approached them and continued, "I've set things in motion that led to the Grimm retreating for a big counter-attack against humans and faunus. I want to fix this, I _will_ work to fix it, but to do that, I need people, I need resources. I have friends who've already provided me with the latter. All I need is the former, and I chose you all. Preferably just as a start.

"It's a big responsibility... But from what June told me about you," he looked at Blake and Weiss before turning to Ruby and Yang, "And what I've seen from you, I believe you are all the right people for this job." He then turned to Pyrrha, Ren and Nora, "As for the three of you... I do not know you personally as of yet. June told me that you were good people, and I see that you are all quite the combatant, even if Mr. Ren didn't manage to show his skills against the Arachne, the King Taijitu you faced before more than proved that you've got what it takes."

Jaune crossed his arms and declared, "With all that said... I know that I've basically conscripted you. However, I do this not out of spite, but out belief that you can be the vanguard against the Grimm onslaught that is to come. So I'll ask you once... does anyone want to leave?" he asked, "Of course, if you chose to do so, we will have you sign a non-disclosure agreement form." He revealed, "After all, this is supposed to be a top secret known only to I, Ozpin, Glynda and our Inner Circle."

They were put on the spot, given powers they did not ask for and were asked to fight for a big war that was to come... Yet for some reason, they felt emboldened. The main reason as to why they became Huntsmen in the first place were different from each other, but there was an underlying motivation beneath them.

Ruby wanted to be a hero who helps and saves people.

Weiss wanted to prove that she was more than just a Schnee.

Blake wanted to atone for her numerous past mistakes.

Yang wanted to never be helpless again and now, she also wanted to protect her sister .

June wanted to reach her brother's level and to stand at his side.

Nora wanted to be with Ren and will follow him no matter what.

Pyrrha wanted to be treated like a normal girl who just happened to be strong.

And Ren wanted to do something good with the skills that he had.

Due to this, all of them felt drawn to this cause, as fantastical as it might seem. The fact that it was given not to manipulate them, but out of trust, out of faith, pulled the proverbial strings in their hearts.

Ruby was the first one to speak, "I'm in." She spoke with unbreakable resolve.

"And so am I." June was the next, filled with unshakable conviction that matched Ruby's resolve.

"The leaders of your team has spoken." Jaune declared, "But what about the rest of you?"

"...Jeez, way to put us on the spot, you dolt..." Weiss muttered, though there was no hostility behind it, just a slight exasperation, "I have no intention of leaving. You've given me, _us_ , this responsibility... I'll see to it that you're not disappointed." She said with pride.

"Heh... if Ruby's in, I'm in as well." Yang said as she put her arm around her sister's shoulders.

"...I'm in too." Blake said with a nod, seeing this as an opportunity to actually do some good.

"...I suppose I'm in as well." Pyrrha stated, a bit reserved but willing to give it a try. After all, this put her as equals with the others, which was great for her.

"Hm~ our leader is in, so... Ren?" Nora turned to her oldest friend.

He was silent for a moment before he sighed and nodded, "I'm in."

"Then I'm in as well!" Nora immediately responded with unbridled excitement.

"...Good." Jaune said with apparent relief and a smile on his face, "Then without further ado, now's the time for your first step in this course: Manifesting your Mantle." He said.

"Right." Ruby said with a nod before she scratched her cheek, "Uh... and how do we do that?" she asked.

June frowned as she remembered what Weiss said yesterday, "Weiss, yesterday, when we were going to the amphitheater from the infirmary, everyone saw me unconsciously activating my Semblance, but you said something about a plate appearing over my brow, right?"

"R-right." Weiss nodded before she realized what it meant, "Y-you think that was your... Mantle?"

"You've manifested it already?" Jaune asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I think so. Hold on, let me try summoning it." She closed her eyes and began to call on her Semblance, then as if on cue, the force field that was her Semblance formed like an ever-moving, ever-changing blue aurora... and along with it, an M-shaped headplate made out of the same force field with intricate pattern on its surface appeared right above her brow.

"...Did I do it?" June ased with her eyes still closed.

"You did." Jaune answered for her, prompting her to open her eyes and see that there was indeed a headplate made out of her blue forcefield. "Very well, this is a good start. Now, I want you all to do the same thing, starting with... you."

* * *

 _Later on..._

He watched with interest as the strong human male with the golden hair tended to the younger humans. They all smell different to all the humans he had faced before, their souls had been transformed, but no humans would know that without seeing the spectacle that they all were now showing to him and to each other.

This is why he asked to be allowed here, to see this new generation of souls. In his long existence, this was a refreshing experience as for the first time since he had developed complete sapience and decided to molt off, his interest was piqued. How else would he be able to see this bizarre yet beautiful sight?

He kept on watching and watching until the golden-haired human decided to stop and call it a day. He stood up from where he had been lying down in content and walked over to him, earning a wary look from those the man and the two women were tending to.

"What is it?" the golden-haired man, Jaune he is called, asked him.

"Donnee... Alrrreeady?" he asked. Personally, he thought that his speech capability has improved, which was saying a lot, considering that he had no vocal chords to speak of, only muscle on his throat that he can control to a high degree.

"It's just a starting point, I think two-and-a-half hours is enough." Jaune told him, "In fact, it took that extra thirty minutes for them _all_ to manifest their Mantles and got a good understanding of them." He then added, "Now they need to rest and let today's lessons sink in."

At the very least, the man had the grace to explain it to him. He huffed, conveying an 'alright then' and his slight dissatisfaction that they had finished so quickly in his eyes. He then looked at each and every one of them with slightly narrowed eyes before he approached the younger one in red-and-black. This time, he was not prevented from getting close to her to take a sniff.

"H-hi..." the small girl greeted.

There was a trace of something _older_ within her, either masked or replaced by the change that had been inflicted on her soul. He can't quite place it, but... perhaps if he had smelled her soul before the metamorphosis took place, he would've recognized it. Something something silvery soul...

"Um, d-do you have a name?" the girl asked, prompting him to let out a questioning rumble, "A name...? Don't you have one?" she asked.

Name? The way in which humans identify themselves with? A collection of letters that becomes an integral part of them? "Nnnoo." He answered.

"Do you want one?" the girl, Ruby, asked.

"Uh, Rubes, what are you doing?" asked the young girl with longer, messier golden hair.

Did he want a name? He didn't necessarily need one, after all he was what he was, there was no need for him to call himself by a collection of letters. Still, he responded with a shrug and it prompted the girl to gave him a name.

"What about... Drei?" she asked.

"Drei? Isn't that an old word for 'three'?" asked the white-haired girl with a frown, "Why would you name it three?"

"Rubes, really? You're not naming another Corgi you know." Said the golden-haired girl, Yang to her.

"You... have a pet dog?" asked the one whose physical body smelled almost like a cat as she looked at Yang.

"Yeah. Why? Not a dog person, Blake?" Yang asked.

"...No." she gave a very concise answer as she looked away.

"My partner's _apalling_ dislike of dogs aside..." Weiss said much to Blake's ire, "Drei isn't a good name for... well, anything." She said as if it was the truth.

In response to that, the wolf simply shrugged and huffed, not caring either way. "Drei. I am." He declared, not that it mattered much.

"...Really?" Weiss asked in a deadpan tone.

"Okay! Drei it is." Ruby said with a smile.

"A Huntsman befriending and naming a Grimm..." the stern older blonde woman spoke as she shook her head, "I don't know whether to be scared, amused or to just cry at the absurdity of it all..." she said.

Indeed, his kind is regularly hunted by humans like them. However, he had the perception to realize that it was not uncalled for, after all, his kind also had a tendency to kill the humans and faunus on sight without discrimination. Animosity, equal in scope, were directed at the opposite sides by both Grimm and the humankind, and in addition to that, the very nature of Grimm was... somewhat different.

After his separation from his kin, they all turned on him very quickly, almost instantly, and pushed him away. He didn't owe them anything, so he had no problem socializing with the humans who existed to kill them... And the one figure who pushed them into hiding.

Though separated, there was still an awareness of the gestalt mind of the Grimm existing in him, and it was calling to him. If he had not molted himself off, he would've been compelled to answer the call... But now it was like an annoying tick on his ears, which he can just flick off with ease.

Still... considering how he had never felt this calling in all the time he had existed, this certainly meant that his kin, his former family, were indeed preparing for a war, like the one called Jaune was saying.

...Everything was changing. Whether it would be for the better or worse, he, Drei, would patiently wait for the events to unfold.

* * *

 _At another location in Vale..._

In the darkness deep beneath a mountain, a gigantic writhing mass of black, white and red pulsed. A monstrous sight that fits the surrounding in which it is located on, a sight that no one had seen as of yet, for it was created in secrecy.

Then, from the mass came out a black human hand armored with white bone plating that mimicked human musculature complete with claw-like bone plating in place of its 'fingernails'. It clawed its way out as if it was trying to escape the fleshy imprisonment it was in.

The hand retreated back to the mass of dark goo before a black humanoid head, plated with a bone in the shape of a mask with only a pair of eye-shaped openings and a pair of curved horns pointing backwards on the sides of its head popped out, immediately followed by it walking out of the mass, showing its _very_ humanoid shape, which was marred by the fact that it had an extra pair of limbs on the back of its shoulders. Both of them were triple-jointed, twice the girth of its humanoid arms and three times the full length of each of its joints in its arms with five claws on the end of each arms' second joints, which were shaped like human hands.

Said extra pair of limbs were actually wings, as shown by the bat-like appendages that sprouted from the side of the arms and the sheet of scaly flesh that adorned it. With how it appeared, it was almost as if it was a humanoid dragon in the form of a Grimm.

From the darkness within the openings for eyes that it had on its mask, a pair of glowing red eyes opened up as the mass of black, white and red behind it began to gurgle and pulse... Then, more hands began to thrust its way out as cacophony of inhuman moans and growls came rumbling out from the shapeless giant mass of Grimm...

* * *

 _The next day..._

"So... Mantle, huh?" was Yang's conversation starter as she, along with the others in her team and Team JNPR sat on a canteen table in the morning, eating breakfast with a friendly company with whom she trained together in an art of battle that was newly created.

Ruby immediately looked around frantically before she turned to Yang, "Yang...! Speak more quietly, it's not public knowledge, remember?" she asked.

"Right, right. Still, it's... quite something, isn't it?" Yang asked, excited about talking the whole Mantle thing, "Even with my Semblance, I've never felt so much power before. He wasn't kidding when he said it's a tier above it."

"To be honest, it's a bit... overwhelming." Pyrrha remarked.

"Oh? Coming from you?" Yang teasingly asked. "Man, even the four times champion of Mistral Tournament can get overwhelmed, huh?"

"W-well..." the 'secret', as it were, had been let out yesterday, and Pyrrha had been afraid at first that June would see her differently... So when she simply said 'That's cool' and moved on, she was so, so glad. And now, being teased of her status for fun like this truly made her think that she was being treated equally, "I _am_ a human after all." Pyrrha quipped.

It earned her some chuckles from her friends. ...Her _friends_ , the word had never been as true as it was now. "And yes, it was, and still is, a lot to take in, but... I think that this Mantle is a great boon."

"Indeed." Weiss agreed, "This Mantle is indeed something else, especially with what it can do, but..." she actually pouted as she said; "I don't like how we're unable to compete in the Vytal Festival because of it..."

"...Skewed priorities much, Weiss?" June asked with a knowing smile, "I mean, considering what we're entrusted with, not being able to participate atsome festival is a rather cheap payoff."

"I don't mind it." Blake said, "Even without the secrecy, it would be unfair to those we face and if we chose to participate anyway and hold back, it would make people suspicious." She explained.

"Right, they would wonder why we just used our weapons." Ren pitched in, "Not to mention that we're not really that good at using our Mantles yet, right?"

"Right... Except for Nora." June remarked to the beaming girl, "She's a scary natural at it."

"Well..." Ren then revealed, "She _did_ discover her Semblance very early and got a handle on it so fast."

"I zapped myself with a taser." Nora said, "I always felt that electricity feels more like a tickle that wakes me up more than something that stung, so I thought: Hey, maybe that's my power, so I did that, and ta-da~!"

Everyone went silent immediately after what the girl said with such a happy look on her face. "...Great!" Ruby said with a thumbs up and a grimace of a smile before she took a quick look around to see if anyone heard them, and when she noticed no one even glanced towards them, she sighed in relief.

"Ruby, aren't you a bit too... paranoid?" Yang asked, "Come on, I know it's a secret and all, but we've been rather quiet, haven't we?" concern was all over her tone of voice.

"Well, you can never be too careful." Blake said in approval.

"Though it is rather paranoid of you, it's not uncalled for." Weiss basically agreed, "Considering the scope of what we now hold secret... it's best to be cautious. Good of you to do that."

Yang had no retort to that, and she sullenly went silent. "...You know..." Yang started to speak again after a couple of seconds, "Is there anything stopping us from asking for a session of training every day?" she asked.

"...Already hooked on it, huh?" June asked, "Well, can't say that I don't share the sentiment... When it was just a Semblance, my force field is powerful and versatile enough to be said as Killer Semblance, like yours was, Pyrrha."

Polarity, the capability to control the magnetic force to a degree, a Killer Semblance due to the fact that it would make the user the bane of every weapon-wielding enemy, ever, of all times. Unless she faces against an opponent wielding hard-light/force field. "Come to think of it, is that one of the reason why you're so good in the tournament as well?" Weiss asked, really curious, "I know you're very very skilled, but combined with that..." a look of realization flashed across Weiss' face before she said; "No wonder you were undefeatable."

Another one of her secret was out, yet Pyrrha felt... glad. Now that they knew why she was 'invincible', it made them see her just as a normal girl who just happened to be strong. She could see the understanding in their eyes and felt... humbled, "In retrospect, perhaps I should've been more lenient... But, I have this competitive streak." She explained sheepishly.

"Ah." Was what almost everyone else around her said if they weren't nodding their heads in understanding.

"Anyway, " June interjected, "Now that it's become a Mantle, and even with how harsh Professor Goodwitch and that Neo woman are..." everyone grimaced a bit at that, "it makes me fired up even more."

Yang's eyes glinted before she metaphorically pounced on what June said, "Hey~" Yang said with a smirk, "Being _fired up_ is exclusively _my_ thing now."

Everyone's response to Yang's play on words were either a sigh or a groan save for June who simply chuckled and didn't leave Yang's raised hand hanging and smacked it with a high-five.

Later on in the afternoon, as the time for their next lesson was approaching, the group of eight could be seen walking towards the public arena, where the Combat class will be held.

"So I've talked to my brother," June said, "And while he's open for sessions of training every day, it's best to set up a different time for every other day compared to the schedule."

"So instead of having it at three, we have to use another time slot?" Weiss asked, to which June nodded, "Hm... I guess we'll have to think about it further." She muttered.

"Yeah, we don't want to seem suspicious." Nora said before she stage-whispered "We're like secret agents now, so we have to stay on the down low."

Though delivered in a rather over-the-top way, Nora was right. If they wanted this to happen, they needed to figure out the right time to do it. "Hm... Let's talk about this after Combat class." June said, "Whaddya say, Ruby?"

"Yeah, let's just focus on Combat class for now." Ruby agreed, "Though... one question... now that we have Mantle... and we're going to Combat class, which would make us fight other students, how should we... do it?" she asked.

...No one answered her as they continued to walk towards the public arena with thoughtful look on their faces.

Entering the ring-shaped arena with raised outer edges that provided seats, they saw a pair of very familiar professors; Glynda Goodwitch and Jaune Arc, the latter wearing the dark blue vest he wore at Port's class the day before instead of his suit-longcoat, standing in the center of the arena.

They stood silently as they, along with the first-year students entered and took seats while keeping watch over the two blonde professors. When they sat down, Ruby asked, "...You know, that... Neopolitan..." she trailed off as the others looked at her, "Jaune or Professor Glynda never called her a professor even once."

"Yeah I noticed that too." Yang remarked.

"I think she's hired externally." Weiss assumed, "Atlas do that sometimes, they use Specialists from the military to teach would-be Huntsmen in academies. They'd teach like professors do, but they don't have the duties reserved for the professors, such as grading, mostly due to the fact they mostly teach practical matters, such as laws, politics and military manners which must be understood, not just memorized." She then smiled proudly, "How do I know this? Well, I so happen to know one."

The others who were not Atlesian natives, only looked at Weiss with confusion, which prompted the white-haired girl to sigh, "A Specialist is one of the highest military rank that the Atlesian military can give, they are basically among the best of the best of Atlas." She explained before she elaborated, "My elder _sister_ happens to be one."

"Wow, really?" June asked, "Your family's very high up huh?"

Along with Pyrrha's 'secret' being outed to June, Weiss' family's reputation was also revealed to her. Unlike Pyrrha however, she did not have any initial fear over it, in fact, she was very much curious as to what she thought of her after that.

Finding out that she still considered her as just Weiss, a girl whose family happened to be rich was... pleasant, to say the least. "Well to be fair, my sister worked hard to be where she is now. It's not just our family name that got her there." She said with a proud smile.

"It does _help_ though, right?" Blake asked pointedly at Weiss with a deadpan tone of voice.

"...Yes, they do." Weiss admitted as much with a slightly pained look on her face, showing her sentiment about the whole thing with her family name.

"...Uh, Weiss... I have a question." Ruby said.

With raised eyebrows at how Ruby seemed reluctant to ask, Weiss cautiously said; "Shoot."

"You said that your sister's a Specialist, a high-ranking member in Atlas military..." Ruby trailed off.

"Yes, what of it?" was there a point to this?

"Well... have you told her about our...?" she trailed off, hoping that Weiss got the message...

She did, and it made her eyes widen. "...Oh no..." she muttered as a look of fear was on her face now, 'I-I've forgotten about it!' she screamed in her mind as she went into panic mode, 'W-what would she think of this?! Would she think that this is a good thing? A bad thing? Would she berate me? Should I tell her? Should I tell father? ...On second thought, no on that part.'

Weiss didn't think that she should tell her sister when she decided to accept Mantle, all she thought about was that it was an opportunity for her to become more than just a Schnee. The way she saw it was that this Mantle would allow her to become her own person even more in addition to her studying to become a Huntress.

However, even if she was not as concerned with what her father thought of her and whatever she does as she used to years ago, she still valued her sister and what she thinks of her in very high regard. "Oh no...!" she bemoaned as she used both of her palms to cover her face.

Blake, her partner, rubbed her partner's left shoulder without looking at Weiss and said; "There there." Despite how it looked, Blake's gesture was rather genuine, considering her views of the Schnee family.

Ruby quickly rubbed Weiss' back, "Hey... it'll be alright." She assured her.

"Yeah, your sister's not like you, is she?" Yang asked, "If she's not, you're good, but if she's like you or... Oum forbid, an even _worse_ version of you..." she trailed off.

"Speaking of family, anyone else here have informed your parents or your siblings?" June asked, "I haven't told my parents and/or siblings yet, what about you, Pyrrha?"

"I... have not." Pyrrha answered, "When we enter Beacon or Huntsman Academies of similar tier, aren't we considered as adults already?" she asked.

"It's a rule, yes." Ren confirmed, "Unless it pertains to matters such as the safety, well-being and the life of the students, the students at Beacon do not need the permission from their parents or guardians to be allowed to do what they want as long as it's allowed by the academy."

"But aren't we like secret agents now...?" Nora once again stage-whispered.

"...Yeah, how does this work?" June wondered out loud, to which no one answered.

As if on cue, Glynda addressed all the first-years who were already sitting down on their seats. "Welcome to Combat Class." Her commanding voice echoed throughout the arena, immediately silencing everyone. "In this course you are to show your skills by sparring with each other. I, along with Professor Arc will evaluate you as you fight and we will criticize your flaws and commend what you do well. With that said, let us get to business immediately."

Still as no-nonsense as ever, Glynda then used her telekinesis to lift up her Scroll and used it with one of her hands. "I have here a list of all your names. But before I begin to call, is there anyone who wants to step up out of their own volition?" she asked with a steely gaze.

There was hesitance in their eyes as they all went silent. A large number of them did not want to take Glynda on that offer. "Very well then, I'll call one of your names, when you hear yours, please step down to the arena immediately." She looked at the Scroll before she called out one name: "Pyrrha Nikos." Then another one, "June Arc. Please get down to the center right now."

The two partners looked at each other before the two nodded with challenging smirk on their faces before they stood up and immediately went down to the arena as they were told to... without their respective weapons. "...Wait." June said out loud as she realized something crucial was amiss.

"You may have noticed that I didn't ask you to get your weapons." Said Glynda, "Nor did I ask you to change your uniform. This is deliberate."

The three sentences caused everyone to realize that was indeed the case. What could this mean? A Huntsman without a weapon might as well be a civilian, yet... What was the point of this? "For years now, Huntsmen relied on their weapons to fight. Though understandable, dependency can be crippling. What if you were disarmed? If not by a stronger, more skilled enemy, then by an unfortunate circumstance, then what will you do? As such, Combat Class will include unarmed combat for every session."

The announcement was met with a mixture of enthusiasm and wariness. There were some who were dependent on their weapons to fight, and as such, the idea that they will be graded based on their unarmed fighting capability was a bit frightening.

"You are allowed to use your Semblance." A look of knowing was on Glynda's face as she intently glared at both June and Pyrrha, effectively telling them to don't say anything inr regards to Mantle, "But otherwise, you will have to fight unarmed. We will give you a minute to prepare." She said as she left, but Jaune stayed and approached them.

"Mantle is allowed." Was what he begin with with a quiet voice, which surprised June and Pyrrha before he added, "You can access its enhancing capabilities without letting it manifest, it's a form of control that you two are the best at save for Nora thanks to how the fundamentals of your Semblances weren't completely changed. Now, Pyrrha, I know that you might think that compared to June's semblance and without her using weapon or armor made out of metal might give you some handicap, but now that your polarity has been thoroughly enhanced, use your creativity in regards to magnetic force. Particularly the magnetic field you can now make."

"...Got it." Pyrrha said with a respectful nod as her mind began to think on what she could do with it.

"June, now that your force field is now stronger, you two are on an even playing field."Jaune said, "Considering that your Semblance appeared _exactly_ like your Mantle, it shouldn't raise too much suspicion."

"Mm." She nodded in understanding before she turned to Pyrrha and extended her hand. "Let's have a good fight, yeah Pyrrha?" she asked.

"...Hm. Let's." Pyrrha answered with a soft smile on her face as she reciprocated the gesture and shook her hand, excited about the incoming spar.

"Are you two set?" Glynda's voice resounded all over the arena, prompting Jaune to step back as the blonde and the redhead girl nodded. "Then face each other and take four steps back." She ordered.

Like two gunmen from romanticized fictional stories of the lawlessness that was the Pre-Dust world, they took four steps back while still looking at each other. When they were eight steps away from each other, Glynda said; "On 3. 1."

June immediately raised her fists and went into a stance, prompting Pyrrha to do the same. "2." Glynda said as the whole arena went silent... "3."

June focused her force field on her right feet and went into a fast dash as she covered herself with film-thin force field. When she was close enough, she went for a jab directed at Pyrrha's face, only for it to meet Pyrrha's forearm.

The clash caused a resounding echo. In close-up, one would see that June's right fist was a couple millimeters off from her forearm, as if it was being held at bay by something invisible. Pyrrha, undeterred, went for a punch of her own, directed at June's stomach.

Once again, the clash caused a resounding echo as it was stopped a couple of millimeters away from actually hitting June. Noticing this, both of them smiled before the fight began in earnest as June jumped back a bit before delivering a kick directed at Pyrrha's side.

Pyrrha opted to dodge by bowing down low and move closer to her partner and retaliated with advancing quick punches, to which June responded by taking a couple of steps back as she blocked her every punch, all of them stopped a few millimeters away from touching her skin.

June took one, two, three steps back before she went for an uppercut, to which Pyrrha dodged by leaning back, but once again, she was hit when June swiftly decided to hit her face by slamming down the back of her hand that was already in front of her to Pyrrha's face. She then continued by shoulder-charging her, pushing the redhead a few feet away from her before she went for a punch again... And then, Pyrrha responded by a punch of her own.

Fists met fists as the two traded blows with equal speed and power, their eyes at their intended target yet their weapons, their fists, were incapable of making contact because instead of hitting their targets, their fists hit the other's fists due to their interjecting trajectory, creating a semblance of rhythm from the resounding echo of their punches.

Only then that the audience realized that the sound they made as their fists hit each other... was like the sound of a gun's discharge, showing how much strength was contained in every punch.

If only they knew that it was because of two energy field canceling each other out. June's force field and Pyrrha's magnetic one, both of them protecting the users and they were standing on equal ground.

Their rushes were stopped when Pyrrha and June both ended it at the same time when _both pairs_ of their fists collided against each other. There was silence for a while as June and Pyrrha looked at each other's eyes... and smiled before they both relaxed, took a step back and began to talk.

"Looks like we're pretty even." Said Pyrrha with her usual gentle voice.

"Oh I don't know... you know, for one to win in any fight, all it takes is a little..." June flicked her finger and sent a force field bullet directed at Pyrrha's eyes, which was blocked by her magnetic fild, but the spark of brightness it created forced her to close her eyes, and it was only a second later that she felt her body being lifted by the waist by June, who was hugging her from behind, "distraction at the right time."

"Wha-?!" she then felt the back of her head being hit on the floor _hard_ as June had layered the spot where her head would crash down on with her force field and thus concussing her completely.

June stepped off from being below Pyrrha's prone form on the ground and immediately went to check her partner's well-being, "Pyrrha, you okay?"

"...You... cheated..." Pyrrha muttered, the concussion already making her dizzy. "No fair..."

"Well, it's not like distracting your enemy isn't allowed." June pointed out.

"Indeed." Glynda said as she approached them, "Distracting the enemy is always an option in any fight. Having been in tournaments, I thought you knew this, Ms. Nikos. Even in a spar, distraction is a legitimate method, and you lowered your guard, which Ms. Arc here exploited. Therefore, it is her win."

She lost... Not because June was stronger, oh she was strong alright, both of them were pretty evenly matched, but because she deliberately _lowered her guard._ Pyrrha Nikos, four time Mistral Tournament champion, giggled at first, "Mmhmm... Mmhmmmhmhm..." a soft, melodious one, before it became a chuckle, "Ehehe... Ehehehehee..." loud enough for those near her to hear... Then it turned into a full-blown laugh, "Ahahahaha! Aahahahaha! Ahahahaaha!"

June looked at Pyrrha with confusion and slight fear at the sudden laughter, "Uh... Pyrrha, I didn't hurt you too bad did I?" she asked, "I-I'm so sorry, do you need to go to the infirmary?"

Pyrrha stopped her laughter for a second to look at June and her face full of concern that made her feel light, "Mhm! N-no, I-I'm just a bit dizzy, it's... I, ehe... I laughed because of something else, don't worry about it." She then decided to stand up, only for her to wobble when she was halfway up.

Suddenly, she was stopped from falling by Jaune's taller, broader, muscular form as he held her gently by her shoulders. He then grabbed her cheek softly and turned her head to face him so that he could see her eyes. "Hm... it doesn't look too bad, but I think you'll need a rest in the infirmary. Professor Goodwitch?" he turned to Glynda.

"Very well, take her there Professor Arc."

Pyrrha gasped slightly as she was swept off her feet and was put into a bridal carry by June's brother. A blush was on her face and she fidgeted, "Uh, um, I-I can walk, you don't have to carry me there, Professor." She told him.

"Even if your concussion isn't really bad, it's best if it's not exacerbated." Jaune told her as he went for the exit, all the while, Pyrrha could only blush in silence as she found her position to be... quite comfortable, rather surprisingly.

June watched them go with a slight pout/frown before, "Ms. Arc." She was called by Glynda, and she turned her head towards her as fast as lightning, "While your tactic is under-handed, you are right in that in an even fight, a distraction can make all the difference in the world." However, she then raised her hand with her index finger extended, "Note, however, that it is because you and Ms. Nikos had stopped fighting before I declare that it has ended is the reason why I allowed this. Loopholes like these are devious, under-handed and can be considered as cheating... and as such, they are rare. Ms. Nikos won't fall for the same trick twice nor will she be as gullible as before, so it only works once."

"I know." June said before she shrugged, "I saw an opportunity and I took it. If it would discourage her to not do this again, then that's good too."

"Hm. Well, whatever your reason is, this match's winner is: June Arc!"

There were a couple of applause here and there. It was clear that some of them didn't think that it was a legitimate win, but was impressed by the show of strength that both June and Pyrrha showed beforehand and thus acknowledged the former's strength.

On Team RWBY and the rest of Team JNPR's side however, the approval was unanimous, the only difference being the _degree_ in which the individuals in the two teams approve the act. Yang and Blake were the most approving, Weiss and Ren were the least, though it didn't mean that they _didn't_ like it, while Ruby and Nora were in the middle in regards to the whole situation.

"Return to your seat, please." Glynda ordered, and as June went to her chair, Glynda called out again, "I will call out two names again, and like before, those who are called please step down to the ring."

* * *

 _Later on..._

After Glynda's class, both teams, sans Pyrrha who had to stay for quite a long while in the infirmary, had attended Bartholomew Oobleck's history class, which, for once, was not attended by Jaune, who had another matter to attend to after Glynda's class was finished.

Right now, in the city of Vale, he was accompanying Neo as she was meeting a contact that Ozpin had given to her: Someone high up in the hierarchy of the Dea family who might have some lead to Roman's killer.

She had personally asked him to come along as a trusted back-up in case things get hairy. Even with her newly-acquired Mantle, some caution must be exercised. What better way to assure her than a literal walking weapon of mass destruction? At least that was what she said in verbatim to him.

Wearing his suit/long coat while Neo was in her usual ensemble with Roman's hat that she had taken to wear almost all the time, the two, even Neo despite her stature, made for two imposing figures as they walked towards a rather... small restaurant.

"I've been here before." Jaune said to Neo, "Trussard's. Specializes in pasta. Rather low on the number of tables though."

"...Less chance for a big ambush then." Neo said, "You know, I'd never thought that Ozpin knew someone so deep in the underground to call for a favor... I guess he isn't all that goody-goody as everyone thought, huh?" she asked.

"Considering his position, it shouldn't be a surprise." Jaune said.

"Oh? I never thought of you as a cynic." Neo said with raised eyebrows.

"Not cynic, it's just that when one is politically powerful, it makes sense that the people he keeps close would come from the highest and lowest of places." Jaune explained.

"Ah, nice words of wisdom there." Neo approved as they were finally right in front of the door, "...So... Ready?"

Jaune wordlessly nodded and they entered the small restaurant. The place was very home-y, and Jaune did not lie about the number of tables being very few, as there were only three of them, all of them had circle-shaped tops and they were all accompanied with just four chairs for people to sit on.

"Ah, Mr. Jaune, welcome!" greeted a handsome middle-aged man with a rather fit body clad in full chef ensemble from top to bottom. "A table for two like before?" he asked.

"No, Mr. Trussard." Jaune said before he turned to Neo, prompting her to nod and he continued; "A table for _three._ "

Trussard's eyes conveyed his understanding as he nodded, "Of course. Please, take a seat wherever you prefer, will you take the full course for three?"

"Of course." Jaune nodded, and Trussard nodded back politely before he left to the kitchen behind the archway draped with a red cloth with an 'Excuse me.', prompting Jaune and Neo to sit on a nearby table, putting the two closer so that they sat side-by-side.

They waited and waited for at least a minute... before someone else came out of the kitchen, a woman with a height of 5'11 feet/178 cm, bob-style haircut for her black hair, golden-tinted shades that covered her eyes and a formal set of clothing that consisted of a white formal suit over a partly unbuttoned black dress shirt, a pair of white trousers and a pair of white formal shoes.

She briskly walked to the windows, closed the drapes before she stood right beside the empty chair across from Neo. She never spoke, she just kept their eyes on both Jaune and Neo while they were covered with the golden-tinted shades, hinting that she was not the person they were here to meet.

After another minute, another figure showed up from the draped archway, a figure that both of them knew well.

"Welcome to Trussard's." Said Boss Dea herself, clad in the same clothes she wore during the whole fiasco in the Industrial District, a black leotard with a big heart emblem on the center of her chest beneath an orange formal ensemble, "I heard you ordered the full course for three. Good, I'm always famished when it comes to his cooking."

She walked towards the woman who came out of the kitchen before here and then removed her suit and gave it to her, revealing her bare, well-muscled back to Jaune and Neo as it turned out that her leotard was backless. "Thank you my Brie." She said, and the woman simply nodded in silence as she used her arm like a hanger for Dea's coat and continued to stand up.

Dea sat on the chair across from them with a leg over the other as she said; "I knew it would be you, yet I didn't expect for you to bring _him_ along." She said while looking Neo in the eyes before turning to Jaune, "Jaune Arc, correct? I believe we've introduced ourselves to each other."

"We did." Jaune said.

"Now why are you here?" she asked before she raised her hand, "Don't tell me. Is it to be her spokesman?" Dea then narrowed her eyes at Neo and said; "Are you not able to speak for yourself, midget?"

Neo bristled at that but kept her silence, which earned her a scoff from Dea as she began to stand up, "I will not bother with someone who won't even-"

"No!" Neo said loudly, "...No." she said again, much more quietly this time, "I'll talk, I'll even say whatever you want me to, just... stay. Please." Neo said.

Dea stared at the indignant but pleading Neo for a moment with an expressionless face before she sat back down. Jaune looked at Neo, and he could see how it hurt her, to be talking to someone she hated, if not just disliked, but the need for revenge overruled her personal rule of conduct that she obeyed to the letter.

There was a long moment of silence before Dea said; "I have an idea as to why you're here. You're looking for Roman's killer, aren't you?" she asked, "To be truthful... I am quite curious about that myself."

Neo's eyes were narrowed as she said; "Why?"

The answer came immediately, "Recent development has informed me that the cause for the whole fiasco at the industrial district a while back might be the work of a conspiracy with the main purpose of diverting attention." Dea said, "Though the chaos cost me some of my subordinates, I've gained a surplus of my previous number plus some newly-acquired territories thanks to the fact that Roman's gang is no more. The one who ended up losing everything was Roman Torchwick, including his life. His history suggests that he was a careful man, yet in one fell swoop, his fiefdom and his life were lost. I knew then that something was up and that there might be more to his death than what meets the eye."

At that explanation, Neo's fists were clenched, "You're saying that someone was aiming for his life."

"Indeed." Dea said, "Now tell me how he died. Considering that the public announcement of his death didn't go into details, what was the state you found him in? Tell me in detail and do not remove anything out for any reason."

Neo had no problem remembering that, she could recall that with vivid clarity. She took a deep breath before she described the state in which she found him in, with an empty hole on his chest, carved out head, and the driver of the van he was riding in also dead with an abundant amount of dried blood that came out from one of his ears.

"...Dried blood that had come out of one of his ears, you say?" Dea asked, interested more in the driver than with Roman. When Neo nodded, Dea cupped her chin with her right hand before she hummed thoughtfully, "Hm... then I believe I know Roman's killer... But it is all speculation, considering that she keeps her secret so closely..."

"I'll take anything you have." Neo said, fully willing to take any lead on the person who might be Roman's killer.

"Hm... I like your tenacity." Dea stated out loud with a pleased smile, "If I say that you will have to work for me in exchange for this information, will you do it? After all, you are free right now, no?" she asked.

Neo stopped for a moment before she narrowed her eyes, "...It's not about whether or not I'm free. It's whether or not I want to, and I will say no because I'm not as free as you think I am."

"Oh? So you're working for another person right now? Is it Ozpin?" she asked.

"...No." Neo said as she glanced at Jaune.

Dea, noticing this, said; "...Interesting..." as she turned her sight to Jaune, "What is it that you are working on, Mr. Jaune Arc?" she asked. "I've been checking up on you as well, an assistant professor at Beacon, hm? At the age of 18 as well, you are very, _very_ young for such a position... Yet your eyes did not scream inexperience to me. Who are you, really? I know of your family name, but of you yourself, I know very little, and I'm _always_ intrigued by the unknown."

Her eyes became half-lidded as she smiled oh so seductively, "Hm... I think I've made up my mind. Tell me about you, Mr. Jaune Arc, and what you do with Ms. Neopolitan and I will tell you who Roman's killer most likely be."

There was a moment of silence then, which was broken when Mr. Trussard came and gave them three glasses of water, "A drink to quench a parched throat. Please enjoy it." He said with a deep bow before he walked back to the kitchen.

Dea took the glass given to her and took a sip, "Mmm..." she moaned in bliss, "Cool and fulfilling..." she then turned to Neo and Jaune, "Do try it before you give your answer, it might cool your mind along with your throat."

Neo took her glass and stared at it with narrowed eyes while Jaune simply took it and drank half of its contents at the same second before putting it down. "I will give you the answer." Jaune said, "But seeing as you ask for two different information, I want you to give one more instead of just the one about Roman's killer."

Both of them stared at each other with unbreakable glare before Dea chuckled, "Hmhm... very well. What else do you want me to answer?" she asked.

"Tell us your real name, both given and family name."

At that, both Dea and her right-hand woman Brie tensed. The latter even began to move her hand to her hip, clearly to reach for her weapon, but Dea's hand stopped her, "Lady Dea..."she said, speaking for the first time ever since she's in the room.

"Calm yourself, Brie, it's fine." Dea assured her before she said to Jaune, "...Many people have tried to discern that information from me. They think they can find my weakness through that, safe to say they are people whom I do not trust. Do you know what happened to them?"

"They die." Jaune stated as a matter-of-factly.

"As if swallowed by the earth, gone without a trace." Dea stated before she leaned forward with her clasped hands on the table, "What makes you think I will give this answer to you?" she asked with a calm, rather subdued voice.

Jaune responded by also leaning forward with his hands on the table, "Because what I and Neo do is something that only _some_ on Ozpin's Inner Circle knows." He said, "It is something so secret that even his friends in other regions such as Atlas, Mistral and Vacuo do not know, only I along with some others in Beacon."

With that description, a look of interest took over Dea, "...You've gotten my interest when you dared to ask about my real name... But now you've got my attention." Dea said, "Yet you are giving me quite a lot of trust with this information. If it were to be as profound as you're making it out to be, why are you taking a risk in giving it to me? There's no trust between us." She reminded him. "In fact, what's stopping me from giving you a fake name?"

"Because this will be a gamble." Jaune said, "I've done some research on you as well: You're a woman with honor despite your job, you deal with your group with iron fist that demand discipline and integrity, and what you deal with is not what the Il Diavoli dominates, such as human trafficking and drug trade. You demand protection money from people and deliver on the protection, you smuggled goods and control the black market of weapon parts, machines and Dusts, but not on psychotropic drugs or selling humans and again, you control your Family to make them straight-edged and disciplined."

He then added, "As such, I have reason to believe you will not give us a fake name when we can give you an information that is a high-level secret."

Dea was silent for a while before she broke into a laugh, "Hmm... Hmmahahaha! Interesting... You're so interesting! I will not say that you are right or not, but you have proven yourself to be quite the character!" she chuckled a bit more before she said; "Very well... As you are the one more desperate for one particular piece of information, I will go first."

She smiled and gave them the answer to that question; "My name, my real name... is Giorna. Giorna Starr."

"Starr?" Neo asked with wide eyes, "Isn't that the family name that-?"

"Yes, whatever it is that you're thinking, yes." Dea interrupted before she looked at Jaune and said; "Arc and Starr. Both are legendary family names that goes back to the age before Dust, whose names has been rather diminished in popularity and renown save for a few equally old families who still remember. Birds of a feather flocks together, I suppose."

Jaune remained silent for a moment before he asked, "You... wouldn't happen to be related to... Josephine Starr?"

Dea/Giorna's eyes widened for a moment as she slightly gasped. "...Hmm." she smiled then and said; "What a twist of fate this is... so you've met my sister, have you? My dear Josephine..." she sighed as she shook her head, "Truly this is a bizarre coincidence... When did you two meet?"

"We first met five years ago, she was with her group, then we went our separate ways. I met her again at about three years ago, she was on a solo mission that went badly, which I had to save her from." Jaune answered.

"...Ah, so you're the savior she spoke of." Said Giorna before she told him, "Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. My sister, she is very dear to me." She admitted, the mask that was her implacable attitude slipped slightly as a look of vulnerability appeared for a split second before she put it back on, "Moving on to the information Ms. Neopolitan desires... I have reason to believe that Roman's killer is none other... than Miss N."

Neo's eyes widened, "...The boss of Il Diavoli?" she asked, to which Giorna nodded, "...Why?" Neo asked, wanting an answer.

Giorna shook her head, "Not even I, Giorna, can fully understand her. I have met her face-to-face once before, and I can tell that there is madness in her, a madness that revels in savagery. Yet for all that, there is also intelligence and even a form of wisdom in her as well." A look of coldness was on her face then as she said; "She keeps her abilities, particularly her Semblance, as untouchable secrets. I have committed a lot of resources and manpower to investigate what it is exactly, and though what we've found were few in such a long time span, it was enough to paint a picture."

She then extended her hand to Brie, prompting the woman clad in white to give a Scroll. Giorna then opened something on it, and slid it towards Neo, showing her what was written there, which was the reports of dead bodies with similar symptom to the dead driver found alongside Roman, "The bodies that have piled up with the same kind of symptom was enough to draw a conclusion. Using my connections, I managed to keep most of the dead that were found from being published on any news outlets, as it allows me to figure out her power, her Semblance."

"Which is?" Neo asked.

"Manipulation of one's own biology." She answered, "There were small pieces of flesh in the brains of some of the victims who shared the wounds on one of their ears that do not belong to them. All of them have been tested and they all showed the same result: It belongs to the same individual... which, after another comparison test, happened to be Miss N."

"Wait, where did you get her hair or blood to compare the flesh to?" Jaune asked.

"During our first and last meeting in person." Giorna answered immediately, "I thought it would come in handy someday, and considering her penchant for being cautious, she can be quite careless when it comes to the minuscule details such as this." She grinned in a lopsided manner.

With that answered, Jaune turned to his companion and saw her deep in thought, "Neo?" Jaune asked, which brought her out of her reverie.

"Hm? Oh. I'm... just thinking." She said before she smiled and said; "Thinking about how I can now look for her. Miss N, huh? Whatever her reason and power is, I don't care... She'll die by my hands."

"I can understand revenge, Neopolitan." Giorna said, "However, blatantly trying to find her will not work and the subtle way will take quite a while." She then offered her, "I offer you again, would you like me to help you in exchange of working for me?"

"...No." Neo answered as she corrected her black bowler hat. "I'll find another way. Thanks for the advice."

The boss looked at the hat Neo was wearing before she smiled, one that appeared more genuine than the ones she showed before, "...Ah... Loyalty even after death. Very admirable, Ms. Neopolitan." Said Giorna with an approving nod, "Very well then. Now..." she turned to Jaune and spoke; "tell me about you and this secret work you do."

Jaune smiled and said; "Considering that we are going to have lunch as we go along... I suppose I can start from the beginning of all this." He then added, "And knowing that you're Josephine's sister, I suppose I can trust you a bit more than before... So let me first tell you about something that started all this... Mantle."

Giorna frowned and asked, "What does the old fallen kingdom have to do with all this?"

Jaune and Neo shared a small smile which made Giorna think that the question was like an inside joke that she did not know the context of, and a second later, Jaune explained, "No, not the kingdom that became Atlas..." he then manifested his white cape, which fluttered behind him despite there being no wind, " _This_ Mantle."

Both women in front of him stared at him and the cape he manifested out of thin air, the woman named Brie even tilted her shades down, showing her fascinated blue eyes that matched the emotion behind Giorna's own gold ones.

"...Mr. Jaune Arc, I believe you've got me hooked." Giorna remarked, "So tell me, what _is_ this... Mantle?"

* * *

 **To be Continued...**

* * *

 **P.S.: Hey, thanks for reading this story, I just want you to know that the updates for this month will be rather fast as I'll try to upload one chapter per week. The day of the week that the new chapter is going to be out will be random, but this month, you will see multiple chapters coming out until it stops.**

 **As to why I'm doing this, well, I want to make things up after the rather long hiatus. Hopefully you guys will like the new chapters.**

 **See you guys when I see you, and though it's rather late, Happy New Year everybody!**


	13. First Move

**Disclaimer:** I don't own RWBY.

* * *

It had never felt stronger. Ever since it stepped out of the convergence, its body never felt better, its mind never felt clearer and there was this sense of purpose imparted to it.

Under the guidance of the Alpha, it, along with others of its kin that had become greater since the convergence, was to lay out the plan of attack they have set up to destroy the nearby human city.

They remained underground for now, but when the time comes, their strike will be decisive and swift.

As its kin was working underground, it was given a new task along with a group it was entrusted with by the Alpha: To scout the outer walls of the city.

In time, their attack will come from both below and outside the city. With pleasure, it obeyed the order of its better. It will not fail the Alpha nor the companions the Alpha has given it.

As it left the comfortable darkness from which it was reborn, one warning was given by its Alpha...

" _Beware our bane; the man with the white cape. Flee at the sight of him. Only_ I _am strong enough to have a chance against him."_

* * *

 **First Move.**

* * *

It had been at least a week and a half since they first started training and studying their Mantles, a week and a half of testing their limits, exploring the possible applications of their newfound capabilities, and hours spent on improving themselves with the guidance from Jaune, Glynda and Neo every single day had borne many fruits.

"It's a pity that we can't show them to people not in the know." Weiss admitted out loud as she, along with her team, both RWBY and JNPR, were spending their late morning in the canteen, having eaten their breakfast beforehand, "Considering the things I'm now capable of doing... It seems very... wasteful."

"Well, do you use your Semblance every hour of every day?" asked Blake, "Think of it as our weapons, we don't use it until the situation requires us to."

"Yeah, and not to mention they're a _lot_ more showy than Semblance." Yang agreed, "Heck, even Ruby's whole shtick with her Semblance becomes a lot more noticeable thanks to that,"

"Yeah... though I can't seem to control the uh... the discharge like Nora can." Ruby remarked.

"Well your powers are fundamentally different, with Nora its because she's able to both produce and control it while yours is just an aftereffect." June said.

"Yeah, _I'm_ the Lightning Queen around these parts!" Nora declared as she bumped her chest with pride.

"Nora, not... so loud." Pyrrha said to her teammate as she raised her hand a bit in a mollifying gesture.

Ren simply scooted his plate that still had a pancake in it to her side, which prompted the ginger-haired girl to let out a squeal for a second before she went to eat it instead of talking.

"Anyway..." June said, "The trip to Forever Fall tomorrow morning for Professor Peach and Ms. Amber." She reminded them, "What do you think we'll do there? I doubt it's to hunt Grimm, otherwise we'll be paired with either Professor Glynda or Professor Port."

"Hm... if I remember correctly, there's this product made from some sap from the trees of Forever Fall." Yang said out loud, "It tastes good, maybe that's why we're going there?"

"...It can't be that simple, could it?" Weiss wondered.

"Well, Forever Fall used to be full of Grimm, so the only people who are able to get those saps would be Huntsmen..." Ruby said before she chuckled, "But then... Forever Fall is no longer completely filled with Grimm, so..."

Everyone on the team, sans for a certain blonde-haired team leader, looked at June, whose older brother was responsible for said lack of Grimm presence in Forever Fall. June chuckled and shook her head, "Alright, I got it, my brother's... awesome." She said with a fond smile.

Nora, after finishing her pancake, looked at her leader and decided to do something, "You know, team leader..." Nora began, "You really like your brother, don't you?" she asked with a grin.

June blinked once, twice, before she finally regained the capability to say something, "...Uh... I-, yeah, yeah I _do_ like my brother." She said with a slight stutter, "Why are you asking that in such a way?"

"In what way?" Nora asked with a teasing smile.

"Like you're... trying to make me say something."

"Say what?" she asked again, her smile still in place.

"...I... I don't know, like..." June was having trouble saying any words before she finally gulped her suddenly dry throat and said; "Like I'm... um... A-anyway." She diverted the topic, "My brother aside, so you think we'll be going to Forever Fall just to get some saps?" she asked everyone else.

"...Well, that might just be it." Answered Blake, wanting to save her friend from the awkwardness, though she noted that June always seemed very flustered whenever the topic about her fondness for her brother came up and had some ideas as to why, which she won't bring up. "Perhaps it's for medical purposes? Professor Peach _is_ a physician."

"Hm... that _could_ be it." Weiss agreed as much, "Still, it's so mundane a task to be given to Huntsmen-in-training..."

"Weiss, we all have to start at the bottom..." Ruby said to her, "Even if we all have Mantle."

Weiss looked at her team leader with raised eyebrow and a look of approval in her eyes, "...Hm... You do have a point. Starting from the bottom, hm?" she rhetorically asked before she nodded, "I suppose I can do that."

"Really? Getting saps from trees isn't too plebian for you?" Yang teased with a laid-back grin.

"...Your sister made a very good point, Xiao Long, I'm simply agreeing with her." Weiss said with a slight glare, "When will you cease with the elitist joke against me?" she asked.

"When you stop acting so prissy all the time." Yang said, still with the grin and light-hearted tone, "C'mon, you're among friends here, Weiss."

Weiss looked at the people around her and smiled, thinking, 'Friends, huh?' she smiled slightly as she sighed, "Behaving a proper way is a virtue _in itself_ you know." She said before she added, "But I suppose you're right, being too proper among friends is not needed."

"There we go~! Alright! Come on then, call me Yang, Weissgirl." She said to Weiss.

"Ugh... Yang, will you please stop with the puns?" Weiss asked.

"Ah~, finally she referred to me by her first name, I'm so happy~" Yang said with such an over-the-top attitude that it made everyone other than Weiss laugh.

"I'm regretting it already..." Weiss muttered, though the smile on her face implied otherwise. "Oh, I just remembered something, even though we're not going to participate in it, do you want to see-?"

"Excuse me." Said another student, a young woman with brown hair topped with a black beret, a black shades that covered her brown eyes and a very fancy ensemble of black and brown with scarf and some jewelry yet she also adorned herself with military gears such as a bandolier, making her look like a model wearing what fashion designers would create for a military-themed runway show. "Which one of you is June Arc?"

"That would be me." June immediately replied, "Who are you?"

"Oh, so _you're_ her." The girl said as she leapt over the table and those who were sitting on it to get to the other side of it where June was, catching them by surprise. She then looked at her closely and said; "Hm... I see... Stand up, please."

June, though confused and a bit wary, did as asked, and she saw the girl smile, "Tall, very tall, and considering I'm in high heels and you're still meeting me eye-to-eye while not wearing one yourself, it's quite impressive." She then extended her hand and said; "My name is Coco Adel, second year, leader of Team CFVY. I believe you've met one of my teammates, the sweet innocent Velvet?"

"Oh! Well, pleasure to meet you." June enthusiastically shook her hand, "How is Velvet? Is she around?"

"Oh she's right there, watching from afar with worried eyes." Coco said as she looked at what's behind June with a smile and a wave, prompting June to look back, and she saw Velvet with an exasperated smile waving at June. "She thought that I'd just be too much of a hassle for you, I'm not, am I?" she asked after June turned back to look at her.

"No, but well, you _are_ quite eccentric." June remarked.

"Hah!" Coco laughed out loud, "You're not afraid to speak your mind, aren't you? Well, I suppose that's why you went and fought off those jerks over there-" she gestured to Team CRDL, who all withered under her glare, "without a care." Her smile turned softer then as she said; "Thank you for that, by the way. Velvet's a strong girl, but she's too pacifistic most of the time to fight back."

"Oh it's nothing, I wasn't going to just let something like that pass." June answered.

"And let it be said that I'm very, _very_ thankful and that I owe you a debt." Coco then grinned as she said; "So with that said, how'd you like to go out with me and Velvet?"

There was silence on the table as everyone looked at June and Coco. Yang and Nora grinned, Weiss' eyebrows were raised while her eyes narrowed, Blake's bow twitched slightly, Ruby looked confused, Pyrrha frowned, and Ren was nonchalant about the whole thing. "...Uh, wha-?"

"Cocooo~!" Velvet said as she arrived on the scene with red hot blush on her cheeks, "I'm _really_ starting to regret telling you about what happened now!"

"Oh lighten up Velvet, I'm just asking June here if she wanted to come with us shopping in Vale." She said to the rabbit faunus.

"Then why did you have to say it like that?" Velvet asked, "Always, you're always like this...!" she said with blatant embarrassment, caused by Coco's behavior.

"Oh, shopping?" June asked, "Uh, I suppose I can do that-"

"Then let's go now, shall we?" Coco said as she grabbed June by the hand with her right hand while grabbing Velvet's with her other hand, "Girls, boy, you don't mind if I take her for a while, do you? No? Alrighty then."

"C-Cocooo!" Velvet protested but she was unable to resist, and June, a bit caught by surprise at what was happening, could only follow the older girl with a bewildered look.

"Uh, I-I guess I'll see you guys later!" June said to her team as she was taken away.

There was a second of silence from both RWBY and the rest of (J)NPR as they stared at the exit where Coco had taken June and Velvet away.

"...What just happened?" Ruby muttered out before she shook her head, "W-wait, do we have classes this afternoon?" she asked the others.

"I... believe we don't have classes until late this afternoon, why?" Weiss asked.

Ruby turned to everyone else and said; "Let's go after them." With a small grin, she added with a shrug, "We'll make it like a field trip or something."

There was a second of silence before one of them responded, "I'm in." Pyrrha said with resolve apparent in her tone of voice.

"I'm in, but as long as we also check the docks." Said Weiss, prompting everyone to turn at her , "I want to see the participants of the Vytal tournament, they're supposed to start coming to this city by now."

"But aren't we not allowed to participate in it?" asked Blake with a raised eyebrow.

"Still, it doesn't hurt to see our would've-been competitions, would it?" she asked, "We look at them for a couple of minutes, then we leave, simple as that."

"Hm... okay." Ruby said with a nod, "We can do that, but let's not forget that we need to tail June and that Coco girl." She then smiled and said "Consider this as our first mission together: Tail June and make sure the eccentric chocolate lady dos not do anything bad to her."

"...Sounds like a plan." Yang said with an approving grin.

"Ohhh~ yeah! A mission for team JNPR and RWBY!" Nora said as she raised her fist upwards.

"So it's decided then!" Ruby declared.

"...We're not exactly a stealthy group though..." Blake protested with a quiet, resigned voice which is either unheard or went ignored, but nevertheless, she simply decided to let whatever was going to happen, happen.

* * *

 _Later on..._

Amber knocked on Jaune's office door, one, two then three times in a rhythmical pattern, and on cue the man himself opened it, "Amber. Good morning, what brings you here?" he asked.

"...Can I come in?" she asked, prompting Jaune to welcome her in. She went and sat on the leather couch in the room, prompting Jaune to sit on the couch across from her. As she gathered up her courage, he waited patiently, wanting for her to speak first, and after a minute, all she could let out was a short chuckle and said; "Hehe, I... don't know where to start..."

"Take your time." Jaune said, assuring her that he's going to wait.

"Well..." Amber gathered up some more courage before she said; "I'm thinking of taking Penny on that offer she gave when I first met her."

Silence fell upon the room after Amber declared that, "I see. You want to give your Maiden power to her." Jaune said, "Why did you choose that in the end?" he asked.

"...I guess... I'm just fed up with it." Answered Amber, "Ever since I became a Maiden, my life has always been an issue of moving to one place to another, never staying in one place for very long out of fear that someone might realize that I was... different." She then asked Jaune, "You were a Wandering Huntsman once, were you afraid that people might see that you're different than them if you stay in one place for too long?"

"The thought crossed my mind a couple of times. Starting from three years ago at least." Jaune admitted, "After I awakened my Mantle, I became even more driven to exterminate the Grimm so the time I spend in staying at one place became less and less as I go on my way."

"So... it's less because of fear but more because you're too determined?" she asked.

"More or less." Jaune said.

"...Honestly, if you existed before I became a Maiden..." Amber muttered, "This Mantle... you know how incredible it is, right? I've seen it firsthand, yours, Ms. Glynda's and those kids'... They're as powerful if not more so than anything I can do with my Maiden powers." She scoffed, "Fairy tales... they always exaggerate things, humanizing animals, plants even, making everything too black-and-white... and now _this_."

She stared at Jaune with eyes that conveyed a slight exhaustion of the soul in them and said; "...I'm jealous of you, you know? For all this... _prestige_ ," she said with bitterness in her voice, "that I have in being a Maiden, I've never made a big difference with it, but you managed to leave a really, _really_ big mark in the world... What's the point in having this kind of power if there's someone... several even, with powers like you?"

Jaune smiled slightly before he corrected her, "No one in this little group I've made has a Mantle like mine, you know?"

Amber shook her head with a mirthless chuckle, "I _know_. Still, after seeing them, my point still stands." She said, "So... can you contact her?"

Jaune stood up while nodding as he went to his desk, grabbed his Scroll and sent a message to a certain number.

 _J: Amber wants to meet with you._

True to Penny being a gynoid, her reply came in a second.

 _P:Really? Yay~! When and where~?_

Jaune turned to look at Amber and asked; "When and where?"

"Uh... tonight at 12, and... maybe at that place we first met her before?" Amber asked.

 _J: Tonight, 12:00 A.M., the abandoned building where Amber first met you._

 _P: Okay~! See you two then~!_

Jaune looked at the way she wrote her message with a slight frown before he asked.

 _J: Are you writing like that on purpose?_

 _P: Indeed~! Is it too much~?_

 _J: Not really, just curious. Write however you want to write._

 _P: Okay~! Thank you, sir Jaune~!_

Jaune shook his head with a slight smile before he wrote.

 _J: Just call me Jaune._

 _P: Okay then Jaune~!_

Deeming that business as finished, he put the Scroll on standby and put it back on the table before turning to Amber again, "Why tonight?" he asked.

"...So I don't get the chance to back out." She admitted, "This is... quite a big decision." She explained, "I've thought on this for quite a long time and I have made up my mind." Her brown eyes looked at Jaune's blue ones as she said; "I'm _not_ going to chicken out."

Jaune nodded with an approving smile, "Good. This is a life-changing decision, after all, you have to be firm." He then went to the kitchen and asked Amber, "Do you want some tea?"

"Uh, just a glass water will do fine, thank you." Amber said.

Before Jaune could make anything for Amber however, his Scroll blared with a powerful guitar riff from the popular hard rock song 'Migrants' Anthem' from Yron Zepplnr. He immediately went and answered the call, "Glynda? What is it?"

" _Go to the underground training arena, now. Drei is antsy and wants to speak with you."_

He disconnected the call, put his scroll inside his suit and went to Amber, saying; "There's something going on with Drei, I'm going down for a bit, make yourself at home." Jaune said before he added, "Unless you want to-?"

"I want to come as well." Amber said.

Jaune nodded before the two left the office and broke into a sprint.

* * *

 _Meanwhile..._

Glynda could only stare at the giant Grimm wolf looking very uneasy to the point of being anxious. Considering how very laid-back in nature the creature was, the behavior he exhibited ever since she saw him this morning through the cameras installed in the training arena was unsettling.

Then, when he wrote a message that one of the cameras can see, she decided to call Jaune to come to the training arena as she went there herself as fast as she could.

CALL

JAUNE

That was the message he wrote, and right now, they were waiting for him...

And a second later, he arrived, accompanied with a gust and on his arms was Amber, the Fall Maiden whom he gently put down.

The wolf, Drei, huffed as he approached Jaune while saying, "Somethiing hass come up." His deep voice shook the air, "I sennse a grooup of my kinn on the Rred Pllace."

"The red pla-?" Glynda stopped herself from asking the question, "Forever Fall. Why is this so important?"

"Theyy are differentt." Drei said, "Improoved. Sttronger. Inntelligentt. Danngerous to otherss without youur Mantle." He revealed, "Eeven your best Huntsmann, as long as he lackss Mantle, wouldd face either death or pyrrhic victorry."

A sense of disquiet permeated the room at that before Jaune began to speak, "Then I'll-"

"-Go, but I'll coome with you." Drei said as he shrank a bit to half its previous size, "I want too see thiss for myself."

"...Let's use the entrance we used to take you here then." Jaune said before he turned to Glynda.

With a huff, she used her telekinesis to activate a switch from the control room far away from where they were, and a section of the wall right at the opposite direction of the steel doors from which Jaune came from slid to the right, showing a much bigger and longer hallway. "I'll inform Ozpin. Be careful out there."

Drei simply huffed before he broke into a run. Jaune, meanwhile, looked at Amber and said; "I'll see you later tonight." Before he left as well, running towards the way the wolf went.

The two women watched the gigantic wolf and the blonde man left before Glynda turned to Amber and asked; "What do you two have planned for tonight?" the question was innocent enough, but there was an underlying demand for an answer there.

"...Hehe... uh..." suddenly being put under pressure, Amber struggled to find an immediate answer to the question.

* * *

 _In Vale that afternoon..._

The sight of three girls, two brunettes and a blonde, was the main focus of the group of seven young women and one young man who were tailing them.

'Though tailing is too kind of a word to describe this.' Blake thought to herself. She knew what tailing was, and this... was a parody of one, complete with the 'inconspicuous' shades, the 'gathering at a restaurant just a few meters away as if they didn't draw attention by traveling in groups' and most glaring parody of all; the 'look at the newspaper to look normal', though in their case, it was their Scrolls instead.

Still, it was all in good fun, it's not as if they were trying to assassinate, steal or kidnap their mark and said 'mark' was their own friend, so Blake could let this slide even as her professionalism demanded that they do it right, such as sticking to the shadows and staying far away from them, at least by twenty meters, and spreading themselves out.

She knew that June would be fine. Even though she had to admit that the Coco girl was eccentric, she was mostly harmless. She would know at first sight what kind of 'eccentric' that was harmful, and Coco was not that kind, mostly loud and a bit nosy but ultimately benign.

"Alright, the target is still being taken to yet _another_ clothing shop, the kind that sells expensive ones." Ruby said rather quietly while playing with her Scroll.

"Roger that." Yang said as if she was whispering into a walkie-talkie.

"...This is ridiculous." Weiss stated flatly in a quiet voice.

"Agreed..." Blake said to her partner.

"Sssh...! Keep quiet, we need to appear inconspicuous...!" Nora whispered rather loudly with a grin.

"You know that you're being louder than all of us combined, right?" Weiss asked.

"Oh...! Sorry..." Nora said in a quieter voice though her grin never faltered.

"I know that brand." Pyrrha said, also rather quietly, "The store they're in right now. It's from Mistral, known for its focus on 'Fashionable yet Practical' approach, catering to Huntsmen with high amount of annual salary, very expensive."

"...I'm guessing that the previous stores are the same?" Ren asked, "Despite that it looks like they've all bought certain things from the store." He then hummed, "Hm... could Coco have bought them all for herself, Velvet and June?"

"It is possible. Still, for her to have bought all of them must mean that she's quite rich." Pyrrha remarked before she smiled, "If that's the case though... then that means she's not malicious at all."

"But still...! We have to make sure!" Ruby said to them, "After all, there could be the possibility that-"

"Misses? Your order is here."

"Ah! Thank youuu~!"

As soon as their food arrived, mostly sundaes for some and a few helpings of pancake for Nora, second breakfast as it were, Ruby, Nora, Yang and almost everyone else who ordered something, stopped doing what they were there for and focused on eating instead.

Blake, who had seen this coming, only sighed as she took out her book and began to read it, having ordered nothing beforehand with Weiss doing the same thing but with her Scroll instead.

Minutes later, when Ruby was halfway done with eating the sundae, she glanced at the window as she began to feed herself another helping with the long spoon... Only to stop dead at who she saw standing across the street from where she was.

A girl with pink hair wearing a baggy top and bottom, minding her own business as she walked on the street. Ruby slowly put down the spoon as she kept her wide eyes on her.

Yang, sitting at her side, noticed the slight trembling that Ruby's hand was doing and turned to her, "Rubes, are you-?" she stopped once she fully saw that her sister's _whole body_ was shaking, "R-Ruby, are you alright?" she immediately went to grab her sister's shoulder...

 _A hand grabbed her from behind. "Nowhere to run, red~" her enemy's voice was sweet, belying her monstrous nature which she showed by biting into her shoulder and tearing apart her flesh with her teeth._

Ruby backhanded Yang's hand at such a blinding speed that it made the air whistle as it went, creating a loud smacking sound when it hit Yang's hand.

Everyone went silent, including the other customers in the restaurant as Yang stared at her reddened hand for a moment, which then produced steam, a byproduct of it healing before turning back to Ruby. "...Ruby?" she asked her sister.

Ruby's wide silver eyes with shrunken pupils looked at everyone as she realized she just made a spectacle of herself, "I...!" realizing where and _who_ she was looking at, she turned to where she saw her before... and saw that the girl's pink hair was of a darker shade than the monster's. She saw her turn her head and saw that her eyes were green and her lips were not colored with pink lipstick. Though that calmed her down, she knew that she had just made a big embarrassing show in front of everyone, "I...I'm sorry, I was just... uh..."

"Ruby..." Yang slowly scooted closer to her sister, showing a gentleness that seemed rather uncharacteristic of her usual self, "What... was that? What got you so scared, sis?" she asked.

"You look like you've seen a ghost." Nora remarked, for once, her tone was rather serious and even, "No one gets scared like that if it's not because they've seen a ghost."

"...Y-you're right Nora! Man, that, that was really scary! Hehe...he..." she chuckled awkwardly.

Weiss frowned as she said; "You know, you're a really, _really_ bad liar." She stated bluntly, "Look, it's obvious something got you spooked, so why don't you just tell us what it is?"

Blake looked at the leader of her team and saw something that she recognized: Trauma, sheer trauma that caused crippling fear. "...Ruby..." she called to her leader with as much gentleness that Yang showed before, "Take a deep breath. You're okay, no one will hurt you here."

Ruby, still rather affected by seeing that girl who reminded her of the monster, nodded silently as she did what Blake said.

"...I think I saw some pink-haired girl there when you were looking that way." Pyrrha stated, "Could she be why you are...?" she asked.

"Really? A girl got you this scared? Why?" Yang asked with a slight scowl, "Did she hurt you?"

"...Um... uh no..." Ruby was really having trouble with this, "N-not _her_ exactly... but..." she couldn't lie, she couldn't, she could hide the truth, but she's really bad at telling an outright lie after she's been found out. "S-she... reminded me of... her."

"...What did this girl do?" Yang asked Ruby with a low tone as her lilac eyes began to turn red.

"...I-I can't tell you." Ruby said as she began to realize that there was no way out of this now, not that she had shown this.

"And why not?" Yang asked as her blonde hair began to shine.

"Because... if I'm going to tell it, I want our whole team to be here." Ruby answered, "June needs to be here as well. I-I'm not running away," she spoke with honesty, "I just... want to let her know too."

"...Fine, then let's get her here." Yang said, angry and wanting to know why her baby sister looked so afraid as if she was remembering a traumatic experience, stood up and began to make her way to June.

* * *

 _Sometime before, with June, Coco and Velvet..._

"So... is she always like this?" June asked Velvet as Coco once again went on her own, leaving June and Velvet to sit on a sofa in the store with all the things Coco had bought surrounding them, "Not that I'm being ungrateful, she bought a lot of stuff for me and you, but... you look a bit overwhelmed."

Velvet sighed as she shook her head, it was clear that her leader kind of exhausted her with her antics, "Coco can be... rather forceful when she wanted to show her gratitude. I've gotten used to it by now, but she didn't have to pull you along for this."

June chuckled and said; "I mean, I like being thanked to as much as the next person, but I expected a cup of coffee instead of new clothes."

Velvet laughed to herself, "Well... at the very least, I can see that you enjoyed it." She said to June before she added, "Though... your team seems to be a bit worried about you. Both of your teams I mean."

"Yeah... I just wish they were better in following us stealthily." June said, slightly embarrassed but also amused.

Velvet giggled at that, "It's good though, it means they really care about you." She said, "All seven of them is like a big family, right?" she asked.

"Yeah... and I'd know, having lived with seven siblings along with our parents." Jaune remarked.

" _Seven_ siblings?" Velvet asked with a gasp, "My goodness, and here I thought it's us rabbit faunus who are supposed to have a lot of children." She remarked.

June laughed at that, "Well, when two people love each other so much..." she trailed off.

"I know, but still, seven siblings?" Velvet asked, "And is Jaune the only brother, or...?" when June nodded, Velvet gasped a bit, "Wow, that must've been... rather emasculating, no?" she asked.

"...Have you _seen_ my brother?" June asked back with raised eyebrows.

At that, Velvet blushed and giggled, "Hehehe... Good point..." she muttered as her ears seemed to twitch a couple of times.

At that moment, Coco returned to them carrying a couple of clothes on her arms, "Now ladies, another session of fitting is upon us!" She said before she noticed Velvet blushing, "Why are you blushing, Velv?" she asked.

"O-oh, nothing, we were just talking about June's brother." Velvet said.

"That hot professor?" Coco bluntly asked with a grin, "June, sorry if you get creeped out here, but your brother is one sexy beast. And with _great_ taste in clothes too!"

"Nah I know, he makes that suit looks _good_." June said.

"Oh, and I saw him wearing that vest as well! Doesn't it look good on him? I swear to Oum it's like he was sculpted from a marble."

"Yeah..." June agreed.

Velvet looked at June with raised eyebrows. Normally, a sister would not like to talk about how good her brother looks, let alone saying 'I know' when her brother is described as 'one sexy beast.'. 'Could she be...? No way...! I thought her type only exists in fiction!'

"Yeah, your _brother's_ pretty hot, huh?" Coco said with a shit-eating grin, emphasizing on the 'brother' part.

That emphasis broke June out of her reverie, making her realize what she just said and admitted, prompting her to blush. "...Uh... B-by... hot, I mean..."

"Hot." Coco said bluntly, and Velvet realized that she was getting either a gossip or blackmail material from June.

'Oh no...' she winced as she looked at the deeply flushing June. Deciding that she needed to save June, she said; "Coco..."

Her leader looked at her stern face with raised eyebrows for a moment before she realized that Velvet was telling her to stop, "...Oh. Right, it's normal to call it like it is, you know?" she asked rhetorically, "I mean, your brother's hot, there's no denying that, so it's not as if there's anything wrong with you saying that."

Immediately, June began to speak, "Y-yeah! I mean, it's not my fault my brother's ho-... Attractive." She said with a still-flushed face before she cleared her throat and stood up, "W-what did you bring for us this time, Coco?" she asked.

Coco smiled widely and was about to tell her the details of the clothes she brought before the front door of the store opened, showing one Yang Xiao Long who went for June and immediately grabbed her by the hand, "We've been following you, sorry about that but come on, we need you with us."

Once again, June was pulled away from where she was with her barely having an input on what _she_ wanted to do.

Coco huffed as she saw June left with Yang, "They stole my thing..."

"What, being an intrusive person?" Velvet asked with a wry grin, "Still... I wonder what's wrong." She muttered as she lost her grin and frowned.

"Yeah, did you see the blonde's eyes and hair glowing?" Coco asked, "It's like she's about to go nuclear or something." She then shook her head and grabbed the bags, "Get June's bags too, I think we need to cut this shopping trip short."

June patiently let Yang take her to the restaurant near the clothing store and brought her to the table where her joint team was, "Hey, did you have a good time?" she asked with a smile, but when she noticed the rather heavy atmosphere and the gloomy-looking Ruby, she immediately went to address her fellow team leader, "Ruby? Is there something wrong?"

"Um... I-I have to tell you guys something." Ruby said, and June immediately sat down at an empty chair and Yang sat right next to her sister. Everyone was silent as they paid attention to Ruby, who cleared her throat for a moment before saying, "B-but first, June, the reason why Yang brought you here is because... I told her that I want you here before I say anything. And things went this way because I... saw someone, someone that... made me react badly because she reminded me of her."

"How badly?"

"I was... shaking." Ruby answered, "I blanked out and when Yang touched me, I slapped her hand away... with my Mantle."

June's eyes widened, "...Who was it that she reminded you of?" she was intrigued by it and is worried for Ruby, considering that her reaction must mean that it must've been something bad.

"...Someone who... almost killed me."

The answer, coming from a girl two years younger than them who spoke with such a quiet, terrified voice set the atmosphere. There was a long, tense silence as Ruby cast her head down while Yang appeared furious.

"...Almost killed you?" Blake asked.

"When was this...?" Yang asked, her voice calm and serious.

"It was... during that gang war in the industrial district." Ruby revealed, "You've suspected something, right sis? You knew something was up, my clothes were a bit tattered after all, but seeing no wounds on me, you let it go." She gulped and added, "Professor Jaune saved me. Remember how Jaune said that he already gave me Mantle a few days before you guys? That was during the chaos in the district."

"...Why did you keep this a secret from me, Ruby?" Yang asked, feeling hurt for not being told.

"Because... the person I fought not only nearly killed me... She brutalized me."

"Brutalized you?" Weiss asked with wide eyes, being fully attentive to her story.

"During our fight, she... not only hurt me... She also ripped and tore apart my body with her bare hands, taking apart parts of my flesh... and ate them in front of me."

The reactions were varied and instant. Weiss turned green as she covered her mouth, Blake and Pyrrha paled, Ren's eyes widened drastically, Nora blanked out as she shivered, June's fists were clenched, and Yang... Yang was like a star about to go supernova as her golden hair and red eyes began to glow. On her back, there seemed to be fire materializing from her shoulder blades, as if a pair of jet exhausts ready to burst.

"Y-Yang!" Ruby said as she touched her sister's shoulder, "C-calm down, y-you're making a scene!"

"Hey!" Yelled one of the restaurant's staff, "No Semblance in the restaurant!"

June immediately stood up and said; "Let's get out of here, pay for your food quickly and get out." She ordered, and all of them complied very quickly.

From the outside, Coco and Velvet looked as the group of eight exited the restaurant, all of them looking very tense as the blonde girl that was not Jaune seemed to be enveloped by some sort of golden fire.

"...I had a feeling we just missed something big." Coco muttered before she said; "You know what? Let's wait somewhere else for now." She looked at the faces June and her group of friends had before adding, "It looks like they need some privacy."

Silently, Velvet agreed. The look on their faces told her that this was not something she wanted to intrude. When even Coco decided not to butt in, she'd be wrong to suggest otherwise.

After they left the restaurant, they went towards a nearby park, where they opted to sit underneath the canopy of a rather large tree that was a bit separated from where the park-goers usually go.

Ruby went to tell them the details of what happened, how Ruby ended up in the district during that situation in the first place, tried to fight her off, but she kept regenerating the cuts Ruby inflicted and was fast enough to keep up with her Semblance, whittling her stamina down before she had her way with her.

"...She... _ate_ your...?" Weiss was unable to complete the sentence, but Ruby nodded anyway, "...Unbelievable. What kind of person would do that?"

"How did Jaune save you from something like that?" Blake asked.

Ruby answered Blake's question first, "The same thing he did to you guys during the initiation test. Except used more than just his pinky finger." She then added, "That was when Jaune gave me Mantle."

"...Do you know the name of this girl?" Yang asked with a look on her face that suggested she was ready to kill.

"No." Ruby shook her head, "I don't even know why she decided to leave me after all that."

"She's insane." Pyrrha stated, disgusted and appalled by what happened to Ruby, "Someone like her can't be understood, let's not try to think about it too much."

"Did she eat your flesh because she's insane... or because it's... part of her Semblance?" Ren asked, "Some Semblances that has ever been recorded are... bizarre, and from the way you described her, it seems that there's a reasoning, an underlying purpose to her behavior... What if her Semblance requires her to eat human flesh?"

Everyone grimaced at the notion. "Eew..." Nora muttered, "Is there really a Semblance _that_ gross?" she asked.

"Semblances come in many shapes." June said, "If a person has a twisted enough soul, it makes sense that the Semblance would also be twisted as well."

All of them were familiar with their Semblances before they became Mantles. They were in touch with their soul, and it came out with powers that matched their personalities, their very being as a person, such as June with her force field, powerful, unbreakable, yet flexible. So what happened when a psychopathic person with a warped personality awakened their Semblance? What twisted power would they end up getting? The idea had never crossed their minds until now.

"In any case..." June intruded, "Ruby, do you know her name?" she asked.

"...No." Ruby shook her head and lied, not willing to divulge that information to them, "She never said it, I never asked. Why?" she asked.

June looked at her friends, the team that Ruby had once named one of the most cheesy name anyone can give.

" _We're Team Mantle now!"_

Team Mantle... way to be on the nose, but that was Ruby Rose's way, and seeing the younger girl being so withdrawn due to what she experienced made June feel very... protective. "Well, if we know her name, then we might be able to find her and-"

"No!" Ruby immediately shouted, "No, don't... do that. Un-Unless she comes back and try to cause some trouble with us, with me, t-then maybe... _maybe_ I'll fight her again, but... I don't want revenge." Ruby answered, "It won't solve anything. My wounds from the fight have healed, and I might be a bit traumatized, but... It'll heal too, right?" she asked with a small smile.

There was a moment of silence as they looked at the younger girl. She had pretty much admitted that she had let things be and that she did not want to cause any trouble. Yang immediately scooted over to Ruby, sat behind her and then wrapped her arms around her sister's waist, "...It'll heal, Ruby... And I'll help making it all go faster." She promised.

"...Anything you ask of me..." Weiss began, "As long as it is reasonable and as long as you do not use your trauma as an excuse, I will see that what you ask is given and/or done." She stated firmly.

Blake smiled at her partner and the sentiment was shared by the others there. They didn't have any real idea as to how traumatizing it all was for Ruby, but what they do know was that their friend was more focused in trying to put it behind her.

"T-thank you, guys. Really." She laughed in thankful relief before she added, "Sorry that I'm like this... I mean, I'm your leader and I-"

"Even a leader has their problems, Ruby." Blake said, "You don't have to be perfect, you just have to be open with us. And as long as you allow us to help you with your problems, you're going to be just fine."

After that, they fell into a comfortable silence as they decided that the matter was concluded. "...Anyone up for some ice cream?" Nora asked, "I'd love some right now, this whole talk has been kind of heavy, huh?" she asked.

Everyone chuckled at her apt remark, and June said; "Nora's right. Let's clear the air for a bit and walk around." She said before she took out her Scroll, "I'll call Coco first though, I did ditch her without warning after all."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Yang apologized.

"It's alright." June said as she called for Coco. A minute later, the call was answered, "Hello, Coco? Yeah, sorry about that I was... Yeah, it's a team thing. ...Yeah, everything's okay now. ...Really? Wouldn't it be... Okay hold on." June turned to everyone else and said; "Coco wants to take us all out for some lunch, do you guys want to do that?"

"Really? What gives?" asked Pyrrha.

June chuckled and said; "She, Velvet and I knew that you guys were following us the entire time." She revealed, "I think she saw us leaving and decided to leave us be, but now that we're mostly okay, she wants to do this."

"...That girl is something else." Weiss remarked with a small smile. "I'm okay with it."

"Me too." Ruby said.

"Me three!" Nora exclaimed while Ren simply nodded.

"I could go for some more food." Yang said with a shrug.

"It's decided then." June said before she answered Coco's question, "Sure, where's the restaurant? ...Toshinori's Udon, okay. ...Right, we'll see you there. Bye." She logged off and said; "Well then, let's get going shall we?" she asked as she stood up, prompting Yang to let go of Ruby and the others t stand up as well.

As one, the eight new Mantle-users walked towards their destination while Jaune and Drei were in Forever Fall, dealing with the new Grimm...

* * *

 _Some time before..._

The red canopy of Forever Fall welcomed them as they arrived on the eastern side of the vast forest. Drei sniffed the surroundings before he looked at Jaune, tilted his head to the right in a gesture that said 'Follow me', and went off in a black blur.

Jaune matched the wolf's speed as he went deeper and deeper into the red forest while letting Drei lead the way, knowing that his sense of smell was fundamentally different. He was not picking up physical scents, but the scents of other being's souls and in the case of his kin, the scent of their sheer presence.

With the force that was the result of their speed, they left trees falling down and deeply embedded foot-and-paw-prints on the ground in their wake. They scoured through Forever Fall as if they were in pursuit of something elusive, something dangerous...

Something like a fully-armored humanoid Grimm as tall as Drei was. It was big, very stout, hunch-backed, and its arms were slightly longer than its legs with five human-like fingers. The only animal-like trait it had were its bulky, pig-like feet and the pair of curved tusks it had on its blank mask that only had two opening for its eyes, its glowing, menacing red eyes that looked at them with a glare.

"Boarbatuskk." Drei muttered, "Changed. Transformed." He said, explaining its nature before he bared his sharp teeth, "Mine."

Jaune simply nodded, "All yours."

Drei charged, and the Humanoid Boarbatusk extended its muscly arms towards Drei and moved its right feet back a bit, anticipating his brutish rush. Drei caught the H-Boarbatusk by its neck, his teeth cracking through the hardy bone armor plating but didn't really penetrate it fully. In compensation for that however, he managed to push back the humanoid Grimm for several feet before he used the strength of his whole upper body to push it down with a loud bang.

Jaune was prevented from being just an audience when he felt something slithering close towards him at an incredible speed. He took a glance to his right and saw what it looked like. "...Snakes..." he muttered before he charged right at it.

His blue eyes met the red ones of the Grimm that had tried to come at him, the Grimm that appeared like a woman with its posture, wide hips and breasts and with the same blank mask save for the two eye-holes on its face made out of scales and had an opening for its mouth in its case... with a long, black-colored snake's body below her waist which went for at least 65'6 feet/20 meters long, turned white halfway and ended up with another human woman's body completely identical to the other one save for the fact that it was colored in white and armored with grey scales instead of white scales.

"A King Taijitu..." Jaune muttered before its black side struck with its mouth open. Jaune dodged it, only for the other body to lunge at him as well, which prompted him to lean back down before he grabbed the human-like body and pulled himself up, riding the King Taijitu's white side's back.

They both hissed as the black side moved its whole body wildly, trying to buck Jaune off of its white side, only for Jaune to continue holding on and looking at them with scrutinizing eyes. After a moment, the black side lunged at him again, trying to help its other half...

Only for Jaune to stop its head with the palm of its hand, "Good grief... Much faster and stronger than normal King Taijitu. Not to mention the psychological effect of seeing a human-like quality to the monsters you face... if I were an average Huntsman," he summoned the white cape of his Mantle and said; "I would've been dead a couple of seconds ago."

One punch went, and one half of the transformed King Taijitu was obliterated. The white half screeched, both in pain and lamenting the loss of its other half before Jaune leaped off of its back slightly and delivered a stomp that passed through its body, obliterating its white half as his feet cleanly went through it and directly hit the ground, creating an explosion of air that sounded like a massive gun being shot.

Back with Drei, the sound of the aerial explosions caused the Humanoid Boarbatusk to flinch, allowing Drei to capitalize on the moment by pulling back his head before he bit on its neck again, penetrating through the cracks he created before, plunging his sharp teeth into its neck before pulling back again with his teeth still locked onto its neck and ripping it apart as a result.

Jaune watched what's left of the twisted King Taijitu's body remained. Seconds passed until it was halfway to a full minute, and Jaune frowned, "It's not disappearing." he said out loud as he approached the motionless body and then touched it. His hand remained there for a couple of seconds and then he muttered, "...It's dead, but it's not disappearing." He concluded.

"A Prrice to pay." Drei said as he approached Jaune, "Stronger... better.. but thiss becomes their only form, and destrruction of their body becomes a finality, a permanennt end." He revealed.

"They're actually dead? As in that's it for them, the end, no more?" he asked Drei.

"Like anyy other creature, they are now mmortal. Provided one iss strong enough." The wolf answered.

So increase in power in exchange for being locked into their changed form, making it their only one life. What a high price to pay for increased strength. "Is this what I pushed your kind to do?" he asked.

"Inndeed." Drei answered.

He gave the carcasses another moment of silence before he said, "...They must be the weaker ones." Jaune said, "I have a feeling that there are more of them, am I right, Drei?"

"Correct. Annd they are alll running away." Drei said.

Jaune wasted no time in asking, "Where are they?"

Drei's answer was to become a blur again, and Jaune followed suit as they went for a chase.

* * *

 _Meanwhile..._

The man with the white cape. He's here, it thought as it ran away, as ordered by its Alpha if it saw him.

Their juvenile transformed Boarbatusk and their King Taijitu has been defeated, not just by their bane, but also by a traitor, one of their kin that had chosen to molt themselves off.

Its Alpha needed to be informed! Otherwise, everything will be for naught.

Watch my back! It said to its remaining comrades. Give your life to stall his approach!

Each and everyone of them nodded, leaving it, the fastest of them all, alone as it kept on running.

The Alpha needed to know that he's on to them!

* * *

 _With Jaune and Drei..._

The first obstacle that they faced in their chase was another humanoid Grimm, this time in the shape reminiscent to that of a humanoid bear, as stout of a physique as the humanoid Boarbatusk was but much bigger than it or Drei with its 24'6 feet/7.5 meter height. It roared as it charged at them, and Jaune responded by leaping towards it with his fist extended, hitting it right on its bulging stomach. To his surprise, it resisted his punch a little bit for a fraction of a second, but as the momentum of his leap persisted, the resistance was broken quickly as he passed through it like a rocket, causing its body to explode.

'So depending on what kind of Grimm they once were, they're more durable and powerful than the other.' Jaune concluded before suddenly, his arms were grabbed by a pair of clawed feet that took him away. He looked up and saw a massive winged humanoid Grimm with a beak addition to its blank mask. 'All of them also comes with additional armor bone plating that covered their whole body, even if they were once avian like this Nevermore.' He concluded calmly.

The humanoid Nevermore was quite large with its 42 feet/12.8 meter wingspan and the body to match. "You're almost as big as the Alpha Griffons I once fought." Jaune remarked casually before he pulled on the humanoid Nevermore's legs by pulling its legs out.

As it screeched in agony, Jaune used one of the clawed bird legs that the Nevermore had used to grab on to him to pierce the massive humanoid Nevermore's lower body and then used it as a leverage to pull himself up towards the humanoid Grimm's upper body.

Once it was within his reach, he grabbed onto the front side of its upper body, and the humanoid Nevermore began to twirl in the air, trying to get Jaune off of it. During one rotation, he did as it wanted, but it was carried by its own momentum so as Jaune was pushed upwards, it twirled back to its previous position, thus showing its back to Jaune, who was now above it.

Jaune tilted his body down and landed on its upper back, and in one quick motion, he punched the humanoid Nevermore's neck and beheaded it cleanly with sheer force.

Its body began to thrash by the sudden violent beheading, but Jaune immediately pierced his fingers onto its shoulder blades while its head was gone and then controlled it with his hands as if he were riding atop a hang-glider with its jerky but stiff wings.

He used it to bring himself back to Drei, who was standing on top of the remains of what seemed to be a humanoid Creep, which looked like a human who was born with no legs but with freakishly big, muscly arms that were bigger than its own body.

He jumped off of the makeshift hang-glider he had made out of the body of the humanoid Nevermore and slid into Drei, leaving the headless corpse behind him, "Are these all they have to offer? I know they're scouts, but I expected more from them." Jaune remarked with a frown.

"Only one remainss." Drei said, "And it has escaped... to a nearby cave." He informed Jaune.

"It's going underground." Jaune muttered, "There must be a tunnel there. Are you at all familiar with it?" he asked.

"No. But we can-"

They felt it then, the shaking of the ground beneath them, which lasted for a couple of seconds before it subsided. "...They caved it in."

Spurred by this, Drei led Jaune towards the cave where the scent was still strong. It was apparent that it was new, perhaps made by one of the new Grimm they had fought when they got out. It was still wide open despite the tremor they felt before, and this time, Jaune took the lead as they entered.

The lack of dampness in the cave and the jagged, crude walls were another clue that it was recently made by the Grimm. However, as they went deeper, the cave looked more natural and became less of a tunnel. This development told them that they were approaching the Grimm's lair...

But then they found a massive dead end in the form of a cave-in. The resulting piled up debris blocked their way and Jaune sighed, "I can destroy this easily, but... if this were to cause another cave-in, we could lose their track even more." He then tried to move one of the piled up rocks but stopped at the small vibration that his action caused, "Hm... I suppose I'll try this."

Drei watched as Jaune moved so fast that he became invisible. Then the piled-up rocks were disappearing one by one in front of his eyes. It took him at least ten seconds, but at the end of it all, the result of the cave-in has been solved as their way was now opened again. Jaune re-appeared right in front of him and dusted off his hands, "There. Let's go, Drei."

Drei scoffed with a small approving grin on his face as he followed Jaune inside.

Now they knew that they were inside a natural formation. The wall of the cave surrounding them left no mark that suggested that it was artificially made, it was dotted with moss and some fungi, living things that were lacking in the previous area. "Now where will this take us...?" Jaune wondered, both curious and determined to find their lair if possible.

They walked and walked, and despite Drei's massive body, the tunnel provided enough of a space for him to walk comfortably. Both of them were silent as the depths they went into began to stifle their breathing due to the slow, steady increase of the area's dampness level, conveying how deep underground they were in now.

With time and effort, they managed to reach a slightly wide open area within the tunnel, one that was illuminated slightly by a number of raw Dust ores scattered around. "...I have a bad feeling about this." Jaune muttered with a frown.

Despite that, both of them continued on, willing to advance...

Then, another tremor shook the ground on their feet, one that, somehow, caused the Dust ores around them to react, turning their color into a menacing red...

* * *

 _A couple of minutes before..._

Toshinori's Udon was a medium-sized restaurant mainly serving cuisine of Far-east Mistralian origin, which consisted of thick wheat flour noodle served in hot soup with either broth or curry. Both Team RWBY and JNPR along with Coco and Velvet of CVFY were gathered together, having eaten their fill of Udon, some even had gone to eat several servings of them.

"So delicious~" Nora commented.

Weiss looked at the empty bowls in front of Yang, Nora, Pyrrha, Ruby and June and muttered, "Where are you keeping all of that...?"

"Well, their Semblances... or Mantles," Blake, sitting beside Weiss, whispered, "do seem pretty taxing compared to us or Ren's. Especially Ruby, Yang and Nora's."

"...I suppose you're right." Weiss said to her partner before she looked at the two empty plates in front of Blake, "You're a fan of East-Mistralian cuisine, aren't you?" she had a hunch that that was the case, considering that Blake's nightie was a traditional yukata.

"...Mostly the seafood." Blake admitted. She ordered two bowls of Udon with sliced salmon. They were heavenly, to say the least.

"Right! So~ Everyone enjoyed the meal?" Coco asked, to which everyone nodded, "Good. This place is where I decided to clear the air with Velvet, Fox and Yatsuhashi when we first became a team. All three of them liked East-Mistralian cuisine, so taking here was a no-brainer, then one thing led to another, and now we're harmonious~!"

"Yes, by harmonious she means we're barely tolerating her antics." Velvet jabbed with a teasing smile.

"Oof! Velv, really, have a heart." Coco said as she exaggeratedly placed her right hand on her left breast.

An eccentric leader paired with a level-headed right-hand woman, a dynamic worthy of amusing stories, to be sure, which was what Blake took note of. "Anyway, my partner aside, how are you guys feeling?" Coco asked, "Are you okay now? I always say a tasty food a day keeps the psychiatrists away."

Ruby chuckled as she answered her question, "We're okay now. Mostly. Thank you for all this though, you didn't have to do so much."

"Nah, I want to kid, don't worry too much." Coco waved it off, "Anyway, so _you're_ the young'un among us, huh? Fifteen years of age, yet already a first-year at Beacon? You must've been quite the prodigy."

"Eh... well, I-I'd like to think that I'm capable." Ruby said, "I'm... mostly good in practice, give me a session with my baby Crescent Rose in an arena or a combat situation, and I'll show you what I'm capable of, but with theoretical courses, I'm... a bit struggling."

"Hm... Crescent Rose? Do you happen to bring it with you?"

"Sadly, no." Ruby shook her head. After all, they were here to have some fun, not to fight, "But she's really cool, it's a scythe, but it's also a high velocity impact sniper rifle with high customizability, by changing the types of bullets I use and its form, it can be used as a real long-range sniper rifle or as a manual turret rifle for mid-range, and it can also-"

Ruby rambled on for a minute before she finally said, "-and I built her all by myself, which is why I called her my baby~!"

"...Wow, you are a... very dedicated weapons girl, Ruby." Coco remarked with a grin.

"Thanks~! My baby sounds awesome isn't it? I mean she _is_ , but just from my description, it sounds _really_ good isn't it?"

Everyone simply smiled at the younger girl's infectious happiness before Velvet, suddenly, asked, "How much does it weigh?"

"Eh? Um... about 40 to 45 pounds, depending on what parts I choose to use."

"And you don't just bench-press it, you wield it, right?" Velvet asked, "Like, seeing that it's a scythe, twirling it around to attack?" she asked again, to which Ruby nodded, "Wow, you must be quite strong to handle that kind of strain." Velvet said with honest awe.

"Hehe, thanks..." Ruby said with a blush.

"...Ruby," Coco said, earning her attention, "how long have you been using Crescent Rose?" she asked.

"Um... I've had her for a couple of years now, why?"

"...Hm." Coco hummed before she asked, "I'm taking a guess here, but you're a bit conscious about your stature, aren't you?"

Immediately, Yang, who was sitting at Ruby's side, clenched her teeth and made horizontal cutting motion on her own throat, which went unnoticed by Ruby whose eyes were wide as she exclaimed; "H-how do you know?"

"Well... let me tell you something about weapons." Coco said, ignoring Yang's frantic gestures, "I made mine when I was 16. By then, my body was already fully developed, so I had no problem with what I wanted to make, which is basically a high-rotation minigun concealed as a handbag." She revealed, "Even though I wanted to have that kind of firepower since I was twelve, I didn't force myself to make it then, do you know why?" she asked before she answered, "Because I want to grow first."

Ruby's eyes widened before she asked, "W-what does making your weapon have anything to do with growing?"

"Well, there's this thing called 'puberty'." Coco said with a smirk, "In addition to having some changes in your body, this is when your height gets increased at a much faster rate. If you were given enough nutrition and enough physical stimulus, you'll help the process as well, as the energy and nutrition you absorb from your food will go towards the growing process."

"Now..." Coco said as she leaned towards Ruby, "When you overwork yourself in this crucial period of time with like, for example, training with a pretty heavy minigun to get a handle on it... Where does all that energy and nutrition that are useful for your skeletal growth go when you constantly spend it all on training?"

It took a second, a second that felt so long for Ruby Rose, but when she got what she meant, her pupils shrank, "...No... that means... that my baby..."

Coco reached out to Ruby, patted her on the shoulder and said with completely genuine pity; "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but... you did this to yourself, kid."

"...I was betrayed...!" Ruby hissed with a horrified look on her face, prompting Coco to pull back, "And by myself, even...! I got played! By myself!"

Yang covered her face with the palm of her right hand and groaned, "Uugh... I knew this would end badly." She muttered

"Yang!" Ruby yelled at her sister as she turned to her and leaned right towards her face, "You knew?!"

"I-I had a hunch!" Yang responded as she backed away slightly while Weiss and Blake, having been the nearest one whose personal space weren't being invaded, pulled Ruby back slightly, "I might have... thought that it would be a bad idea for your growth, but you were so excited to make it that I didn't want to say anything!"

Ruby went slack on Blake and Weiss' grasp, prompting them to sit her back down, "...Ruby, are you alright?" Blake asked.

"...I played myself and I didn't even realize it until it's too late." Ruby lamented, she genuinely looked deeply troubled by what Coco revealed to her.

"...You know, I think we have too much sudden truth bombs for the day." June remarked as Ruby was still trying to come to grasp that she, thanks to what she herself did, caused what she now lamented.

As if on cue, they heard the sound of a powerful, massive explosion from north of their location... At the direction of Forever Fall.

* * *

 _A couple of minutes later..._

Glynda flew through the air towards Forever Fall as soon as she saw the rising massive pillar of red energy and when she heard the sound that followed after, she had already been on the air. The residue of the explosion such as the smoke and the tint of red in the air was still there as she was closing in on it.

She floated at least thirty meters away from ground zero, feeling every details in her surroundings, the deep crater right where the explosion occurred, the heat of its aftermath, the irreversible changes it caused to the area... And the physical presence of both Jaune and Drei, a couple hundred meters away from ground zero.

As quickly as she can, she went towards where she felt they were and saw both of them looking no worse for wear, standing and looking at the aftermath of the explosion. "Jaune! Thank goodness you're alright." She said as she touched the ground, prompting the two to turn to her. She then turned to the wolf and said; "I see you're safe as well, Drei."

The wolf simply huffed and shrugged before he looked back towards the pillar of red energy with a scowl on his face.

"We're fine, Glynda. Thanks for checking up on us though." Jaune said as he dusted off his shoulders. He had pushed himself to run faster than his usual speed while also taking Drei along for the ride. Escaping the blast while it was rendered so slow to the point that it almost stopped completely proved to be rather easy to do. " ...It was heard by the whole city, wasn't it?"

Glynda shook her head and said; "I'd be surprised if it wasn't." Indeed, with how powerful the explosion was, there would be no way that anyone missed that, "So what did you find out?"

Jaune looked at his surroundings for a second before he tilted his head, "I'll show a couple of them."

The three went went the opposite way from the path leading to the crater, towards the two corpses of the humanoid Grimm that were not destroyed in the explosion for being far enough from it. Both the Boarbatusk and King Taijitu, or what remained of them anyway, were still there, eviscerated and obliterated respectively, but they didn't disappear.

"...Grimm carcasses." Glynda muttered in shock, "How long have they remained this way?" she asked.

"More than a minute." Jaune answered, "And it's permanent."

"...We have to take them back to Beacon, let Ozpin, Oobleck, Peach and Port look at them." Glynda said, "And you need to give a full account as to what happened." she sighed as she rubbed her temple, "What comes after this will be a nightmare to deal with..."

Jaune nodded, his face solemn as he said; "I know." He looked at ground zero located quite a bit away from them, taking in the destruction that left the tunnel that was their lead to the Grimm's lair, sealed. "...The next couple of days will be busy."

The enemy has revealed themselves, even for just a moment. Jaune assumed that Ozpin would want to have this area sealed while Oobleck and the people from Vale's government excavate it to try finding something. Jaune was also considering increasing the intensity of his joint team's training in response to this as well.

It was like a game for two, with Jaune, Ozpin and both human and faunus-kind on one side and the Grimm on the other, with the latter having had made the first move. Now, they had to make theirs.

* * *

 _Meanwhile..._

It did it. It managed to prevent their bane from advancing!

The Alpha won't be fully pleased though. They've lost quite a few of them to him and the traitor. Damn them! Damn them all!

It kept on moving deeper and deeper... until it is back among its kin. Thousands of them, some much bigger than it, some smaller, and at the center of it all, the Alpha stood as it turned its blank mask towards it.

It went to the Alpha slowly and carefully before it gave the Alpha its report. Their scouting mission had been cut short, many of its kin that were with it on the mission has been killed and the remaining ones were forced to retreat.

There was silence for a moment before it felt its Alpha touching it by its head.

You've failed... But you have done well. You've obeyed me, and despite the losses, you have proven yourself useful.

It felt as if a great burden has been lifted off of its shoulders. It bowed in sheer submissiveness and gratitude as the Alpha then removed its hand and said...

Our time will come to attack. Be patient. I will lead you, all of you, against our bane.

It heard its kin roaring in approval as it and its Alpha remained silent.

Let us advance! Let us continue our work! Do not falter now, my kin... This is a simple setback. Our time will come soon!

As they all roared in euphoria, it felt empowered, it felt fulfilled. Its Alpha has forgiven it, and it will not disappoint its Alpha again. When the time comes... it will be better.

They did not become this strong by trading their longevity for power to stop now! Their bane, one of the traitors accompanying him and everyone on their side will see what they were capable of.

* * *

 **To be Continued...**

* * *

 **P.S.: Here's the second update for the month! I'll see you next week!**


	14. Time to Learn

**Disclaimer:** I don't own RWBY, Rooster Teeth does, and it is created by Monty Oum.

* * *

 _Yesterday afternoon, a mysterious explosion in Forever Fall shook the city of Vale. The incident is still being investigated as the area has been cordoned off, though it is assumed that the cause was an ignition of a cache of raw Dust ores beneath the red forest._

 _While Dust in its rawest form can be dangerous if handled incorrectly, the spectacle that the citizens of Vale saw yesterday suggests that an involvement from a third party is at fault for causing it. Here is Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck, a Professor at Beacon, answering whether or not it was possible that a third party was involved._

" _It is possible, not ruling it out entirely but the due process of investigation must come first. I can neither confirm nor deny these assumptions for now, need to wait until a coherent conclusion can be ascertained beyond reasonable doubt."_

 _The authority of Vale is still investigating the explosion. We at Vale News will keep you informed to every new development of this news. Now onto the weather with Violet Garland-_

Jaune turned the TV off to cut off the morning news, having heard what he expected to hear out of it. "Do you have any idea what happened there?" he asked to the figure sitting beside an occupied double bed in the hotel room he was staying in for the night along with a couple others.

"I do." Answered the figure with a rather high-toned voice that belonged to a young woman, "You said you saw Dust ores turning red, yes? My deduction is that the Grimm caused something to them that made it react violently."

"Like... infecting it with their presence?" Jaune asked.

"Like a virus, yes." She answered.

"...Have you ever used your Mantle on any of the Grimm?"

"I have, but they rarely survive the experience long enough for me to get a good read." She bluntly said, "But I've gotten enough information to tell you that like us with Aura, they possess their own metaphysical energy."

"So they _do_ have a soul."

"Mm, not in the way you're thinking." She said, "Imagine if all humans and faunus in the world possess only _one_ soul, a singular soul through which they are _all_ connected, _that's_ what their 'soul' is like, singular, one yet many. That's why they're able to just disperse when they're 'killed' before, they are all one."

"A hive-like being..." just like he assumed, just like what Raven described them as, "Yet that doesn't explain Drei."

"Ah, now there's an interesting anomaly." She said, "You see, when I said they all possess a soul, I didn't mean that they are all of one mind as well. In soul, they are one, in body and mind, all of them are still quite separated from each other. I believe that Drei cut off a part of their singular soul and latch it onto his body and mind and thus becoming a true individual."

"I see..." he understood it now, how Grimm was different from humans and faunus in many ways but very similar in other aspects. The beasts of darkness was not mindless nor were they soulless, they possessed both, but in regards to their soul they only had one, a collective singular one, spread all over their bodies and minds.

"What you did to them over the years was brutal. Even if they can remake themselves, each kill takes away their power, and with enough 'death', with one last kill, they won't ever reform again." she began, "You've killed a lot of them enough to the point that you are feared by almost every Grimm. This shared fear caused them to pull back and do something drastic, which was to cut their soul and letting them become like humans and faunus, one soul for one body. It made them powerful somehow, but now they are mortal."

"..." Jaune was silent. He had created this situation, he pushed the Grimm back into a corner that they were willing to cut their own soul like this. "So they are like Drei? But how are they so... different?"

"Maybe... this is just a speculation, Jaune." She said, "But just maybe... they were told to do so instead of doing it on their own volition."

"...You're saying that there is a force that controls them from afar, a Grimm leader that commands them all." Jaune was making sure that was what she was implying, and when she nodded, he said; "How did you come to this conclusion?"

"Not conclusion, just speculation." She answered, "Their singular shared soul allows for an easy control or influence. One entity, or one person, could be their Master if they know how to access and manipulate their soul somehow."

The idea was that there was a singular mastermind behind all of this implied that this force, this entity, was responsible for humanity's woes over thousands of years. It was because of the Grimm that they were forced to pocket themselves into four Kingdoms instead of spreading all around the globe.

"...Either way..." Jaune began, "Whether or not there's a mastermind, let's focus on what we'll do now." He diverted the topic for a bit, "Case in point... The Maiden power. How does it feel, Penny?"

"Mm, pretty ordinary." The gynoid with ginger hair and emerald-green eyes answered. Unlike their previous physical meeting, Penny was using a different body right now. Her hair, while still ginger in color, was longer and flowed down freely. Her new body was taller, standing at 172 centimeters/5'9 feet, slightly taller than Amber was, and through the white long-sleeved sweater with vertical lines, the pair of black tight pants and the pair of black high-top shoes she wore, this body was created to be... voluptuous with a rather big pair of breasts bursting through the seams of the sweater and the prominent hips and butt that her tight pants showed.

Jaune chuckled, "I'd assume that handling all that energy would've been hard for you."

"Oh this body is specifically made for that, don't worry." Penny said, waving off his concern, "I've been analyzing it since I've taken it, and I have to say, once I return to my base and convert it, this will work nicely as a weather manipulating machine."

"...The power to control natural forces that came from a legendary fairy tale, used as a machine to manipulate the weather..." Jaune certainly respected Penny's audacity to even think of such a usage for a Maiden's mystical power. He shook his head and asked Penny, "Can you check up on her again?"

Penny turned to the bed beside her, at the one lying there at this moment and said; "Sure." She extended one of her strings and latched it onto her. Her eyes then saw a translucent viridian-colored screen projected from the string that showed her name, her blood type, height, weight, three sizes, almost all of her personal information including her status, "She's fine and will wake up in about fifteen minutes." She said to Jaune.

Jaune nodded as he looked at Amber, sleeping peacefully on the bed. After what they did last night, he thought that she would remain sleeping for a lot longer. "I wonder what her Mantle is going to be."

"If only I were using my main body. I would be able to delve deeper and check for that." Penny said.

"Speaking of that..." Jaune said, "You have not showed your main body, have you?"

Penny grinned as she said; "I'm saving that for later." The grin on her face conveyed her eagerness to show it. "I sent this one just to absorb Amber's Fall Maiden power. Would've been a waste if I used my main body just to get this."

"Can you at least tell me that it's much, much more powerful than the bodies I've seen you in?" asked Jaune.

"Oh that should've gone without saying." Penny answered with complete, utter confidence. "Still, that's only for a very rainy day."

"So you're preparing it then?" Jaune asked.

"Of course." She answered without hesitation. "Considering what happened yesterday, It's illogical not to."

Jaune nodded in agreement. What happened yesterday signaled the beginning of the war against the new Grimm that have acquired more power at the expense of their implacability, all because they were afraid of him.

He looked at the draped window in their hotel room, walked to it and opened it up, letting the sunshine in. The city of Vale stood before him, and from afar, he could see Forever Fall, where the explosion occurred.

"When they come again... I will face them." Jaune declared. "Next time they come, it won't be to scout, but to assault. They'd be bolder, stronger... But unless they have a deterrent for me, they won't succeed."

He heard Penny chuckle before she said; "You won't be alone, you know?" Penny asked rhetorically before she added, "I'm already investigating them, once I got some solid information, I'll inform you. And if most superstitions were as true as some fairy tales and legends were, I believe you just jinxed yourself."

Jaune blinked once, twice, thrice in silence before he smiled faintly and shook his head, "Even if they _did_ have some sort of deterrent for me... They won't succeed." His blue eyes seemed to burn brightly as he said; "I'll make sure of it."

* * *

 **Time to Learn.**

* * *

On the morning after, the atmosphere in Beacon's canteen was not as light as it once were. Everyone was talking about the explosion in Forever Fall, all of them were speculating madly about what happened, about the how's and why's.

Of course, no students had any idea as to what happened, hence the whole wild speculation that was rampant among all of them...

Team RWBY and JNPR however, were mostly quiet. Not silent, but quiet, because unlike the others, they had been informed as to what happened due to their secret status.

It was after the explosion occurred. Everyone remembered how everyone in the restaurant they were having lunch at with Coco and Velvet went frenzy with shock and panic as they stepped out and saw the rising red pillar of energy from up north, at Forever Fall.

June, along with the others, were captivated by the sight for a couple of seconds before she broke out of it when her brother contacted her Scroll and she answered with...

" _Brother? Brother, are you seeing this?"_

His response was quick and calm.

" _I know, I'm at least three hundred meters from it."_

" _E-eh?! You're-?! Is it-?"_ she went quiet when she noticed her friends looking at her, their attention drawn to her sudden shouting, _"What happened there? Did you cause that?"_

" _No."_ His answer was reassuring, but it was quickly dashed when he added, _"But I know what might have done that... The Grimm. The changed ones. Drei sensed them popping up in Forever Fall, and he and I fought them."_

She remembered the things he said when they first began their training as Mantle-users, of how the Grimm was retreating, preparing for a war... Now it seemed they've showed themselves again.

" _June, if you're outside, go back to Beacon now. Even if the existence of the changed Grimm were to be kept a secret, even if the changed Grimm doesn't continue this today, it's best to be inside Beacon for now."_

Neither she or her friends argued on that, even Coco, despite not knowing anything, agreed that they should go back to Beacon after that explosion. A strange, unnatural-looking catastrophe occurring so close to a civilized city was something that rattled the public, and they were not exempt from feeling such fear.

However, today, their fear has been replaced by a sense of focus. Everyone in their table was quiet, subdued, even Nora was reserved, keeping quiet and paying attention to the others as June began to speak.

"Alright... Considering what happened yesterday and how Professsor Glynda and Jaune are keeping silent while that Neo woman and Drei is unavailable right after that, can we all agree that things are getting... pretty serious?" she asked.

"Yeah, this is... pretty heavy." Yang said, to which everyone nodded in solemn agreement, "I mean, it already _weighs_ heavily on our minds."

...It took a couple of seconds of silence from them, a couple of seconds of sheer, stunned silence before everyone reacted. Ruby banged her head against the table, Weiss slapped her palm on her face with a loud smack, Blake slowly covered her face with both of her hands and shook her head as if in despair, Pyrrha looked at Yang in sheer disbelief, Ren let out a very loud, long-winded sigh... while Nora and June snorted once before laughing out loud.

"Oh come on, I'm just trying to _lighten_ up the mood here." Yang continued.

"Yang. Stop. Now..." Ruby moaned against the table.

"Jeez, tough crowd..." Yang muttered without any trace of hostility or disappointment before she asked, "But seriously though, we were a bit _too_ serious back there." She stated, "Even if things are getting pretty serious like June said, that doesn't mean we should be so dreary, ya know?"

Seeing the soft smile on Yang's face, it was clear to them then that Yang was concerned about all of them. Despite the fact that her jokes were so bad, it did what she was aiming for: All of a sudden, the atmosphere has become much, _much_ lighter.

June shook her head as she said; "Thanks for that, Yang."

"Hey, no problem." Yang said with a shrug. " _Now_ we can continue talking about this whole thing."

"Right. So, to make a long speech short... We're going to have to fight sooner or later." June said it rather plainly. "This is why Jaune gave us Mantle."

Weiss nodded, "Indeed. When the time comes, we have to use what's been given to us." She then cleared her throat, "Even if we had to reveal our new powers to the public in some way, let's... make it so that we won't hesitate. If the changed Grimm has become so powerful to be able to do something like yesterday's explosion, they pose great danger to other people of this city."

"Yeah, there must be no hesitation." Ruby agreed with a nod, "We're learning to become full-fledged Huntsmen, when it comes to the safety of others and eliminating those that threaten them, we must be decisive."

Blake looked at Ruby with respect at her unflinching attitude when she spoke the truth. Despite being younger than she was, the girl in red was utterly honest in her desire to help people. "Even if we have to reveal this secret of ours." She added to what Ruby said.

"...No matter what comes next," Pyrrha began, "Let's not be regretful. If we use our powers for good, then that's what matters." She reminded them.

Ren nodded, silently agreeing while Nora said; "As long as we're doing the right thing, I don't think we should regret anything." she then grinned and added, "Nothing about saving people from danger can be wrong, right?"

Simplistic, and perhaps a bit naive... But the sentiment was shared by all of them.

A second later, the sound of buzzing from the PA system echoed in the canteen as a voice, some in the canteen recognized as Glynda, spoke. _"First years, despite Professor Port's absence, Grimm Studies is still on the same time and place. Please be punctual."_

After that concise announcement, the PA system is turned off, and RWBY and JNPR looked at each other with confused frowns. "If it won't be Port... then who?" Ruby asked.

No one had an answer to that question.

* * *

 _Later on..._

"Welcome to Grimm Studies." Jaune, dressed with his usual vest and dress shirt instead of his long coat suit, addressed the whole class of first years as he stood front-and-center at the slightly raised stage in front of the class. "My name is Jaune Arc, an assistant Professor, and I will be replacing Professor Port's place in his absence."

Something about his presence made the atmosphere of the class much different than it was when Port was teaching. Perhaps it was because of his physique, standing at least 9 inches/22.5 centimeters taller than Port with a body that leaned more towards muscle mass than fat, or it could be because he just _wasn't_ Port.

Both Team RWBY and JNPR were curious as to what Jaune would teach them. They already had a sneak peek as to _how_ he would teach them, but as to _what,_ they didn't know.

"Before we begin, I want to ask you a question." He said, catching their attention, "Can anyone here describe what the Grimm is? In your own words, tell me, what is the Grimm?"

At that, everyone stopped. The question was unexpected, as it sounds like a very basic question to ask to aspiring Huntsmen. "You can use one word if you'd like." Jaune added, "For example... Monsters." A rough, but nevertheless apt description of the dark creatures that the occupation of Huntsmen were created for. "Anyone?" Jaune asked before he then said; "Then I will choose who will speak. Ms. Garnet." He said to one of the students there, a young woman with frizzy hair, blue eyes and a well-built body with skin as dark as Amber's. "What is the Grimm, in your own words?"

The student, Garnet Reeds, was silent for a few seconds before she gave him an answer; "...The reason why Huntsmen exist and are needed."

"The reason for our existence as Huntsmen, which is correct." Jaune gave a nod of approval at her blunt, pragmatic answer, "Without them, none of us would be where we are now, physically and figuratively speaking, and it can also refer to the state we, humans and faunus alike, found ourselves in." He was silent for a second before he asked another question, "Which is what? What is the state of our civilization now?"

Once again, they were asked a question that seemed simple at a glance, but the way he asked it seemed to imply something more, something deep, "There are only four Kingdoms all across the planet. Though there are small dots of civilizations in the form of villages and hamlets, their population only reach three digits in number at max. What does this tell you of our current state?"

His blunt question was once again met with silence as everyone seemed hesitant to answer... until Weiss spoke, "It tells us that we are... sequestered into small territories by the existence of Grimm." She answered.

"Correct." Jaune said to Weiss, "With our level of technology and our access to Dust, we should've spread our number all around the planet, but the Grimm restricted our movements. Some of you might have faced some Grimm and thought that they're easy to handle. Who here has fought a Beowolf or a pack of Beowolves and won? Raise your hands if you have done that." he ordered.

Slowly but surely, most of the students raised their hands, with only a few keeping their hands down. Jaune then continued, "How many of you have ever defeated an Ursa or a Boarbatusk?" the number of hands that were up decreased, "An Ursa Major or a Great Nevermore?" more hands were pulled down, "A Griffon?" No one had their hands up, "A Goliath? An Ultralodon? A Wyvernus? Have you ever at least defeated one of them?"

They knew the first one, Goliath, a massive Grimm that resembled an Elephant, but of the other two, they've never even heard of them before until now. "W-what are Ultralodon and Wyvernus?" asked one of the students.

Jaune wordlessly went towards the empty whiteboard segmented into six parts, took one of the markers on the desk, walked to the board's left, put the marker against it... Then a second later, he was on the board's right side and two Grimms that they've never seen before had been drawn.

"The one on the left is an Ultralodon, a sea-based Grimm." Jaune said, pointing to a Grimm that resembled a shark with bone-armor plating on its upper side while leaving its underside bare, "Minimum average length; 70 feet/21 meters long, minimum average height from its upper fin to its belly, 25 feet/7.7 meters." He then continued on and pointed to the thorny scaled, four-limbed lizard-like Grimm with its forelimbs being wings, "Wyvernus, basically a four-limbed dragon, their types vary depending on the region, thicker thorn scales in the desert, spiky sharp furs in the tundra and there's even a sea-dwelling wyvern as well. Its average height and length also varies, but due to their rarity, they tend to be big and powerful, the smallest one I've ever encountered was 20 feet/6 meters tall and 52 feet/15.6 meters long."

Everyone was silent, not just because he drew them so fast, but also because both the Ultralodon and the Wyvernus were massive, much more massive than the average Grimm they've fought before. "To defeat them, one must always be in groups, fighting them alone is a suicidal endeavor depending on your weapon of choice and skill, but they _can_ be defeated, only very difficult."

He then quickly erased the drawings and wrote something on five out of the six segmented whiteboards. Wolf, Tiger, Elephant, Dragon and Behemoth.. "This a system that I personally created, a threat-level assessment based on how destructive an individual or a group of Grimm is, separated into five classes as written on these five columns. For this session, I want you to get a piece of paper and write any Grimm name you can think of. You have about thirty minutes. Use your Scroll to find more information, the more names you put on there, the better. Starting from now."

Frantically, everyone did as they were told, using a piece of paper, created a table with the template and then wrote the Grimm name that belonged to that specific column. Even those who often slept during Port's session were working, such as Nora and Yang, who seemed fired up about the task that they were given.

Thirty minutes passed, and Jaune clapped, the loud noise echoed throughout the room, causing everyone to flinch, "Alright, time's up! Put the papers on the table please." He ordered, which they followed. Jaune skimmed through all of them fast before he said; "Alright, good. I'll put the Grimm names on the table."

A couple of seconds later, everyone saw as the five columns were filled with Grimm names they've written down. Jaune walked towards the Wolf and said, "All of these names are placed appropriately in the columns where they belonged. Starting from those in Wolf, these Grimm, such as a Beowolf, are easy to defeat one-on-one by Huntsmen of any level, tricky in numbers but nonetheless _can_ be defeated. "

Jaune then moved to the next one, "The individual Grimm on Tiger requires a group of low-level Huntsmen, such as those who are in-training, or a veteran Huntsman with enough firepower and skill to match. Grimms on this class, like the tiger-like Khan are much tougher, more aggressive and is able to cause a lot more destruction to a small community."

"Elephant, like that of a Goliath, is a settlement destroyer, a large group of Huntsmen is needed to defeat the Grimm on this class or barring that, a heavy artillery. A Goliath can be destroyed quite fast by a coordinated airstrike, for example."

"A Dragon-class Grimm is something that can threaten a whole kingdom. There's a reason why the names here are so few and old that they are stuff of legends, such as Desolas and 'The Dreaded Black'. If you've read their legend/history, they can only be defeated with a large number of firepower."

Then there was the last class, "Behemoth... Only one name is written here. Dagon. A sea-dwelling Grimm that once showed up so long ago at the Kingdom of Mantle before it was pushed back at the cost of so many lives and homes. A Grimm of this type can threaten a whole country."

He then turned to them and asked, "Elephant, Dragon and Behemoth... can you face them? Can you win against them on your own? If Grimm is the reason why we Huntsmen exist, then these Grimm are the reason why we, humans and faunus, are sequestered into pockets of civilizations instead of spreading ourselves far and wide.

"The Grimm are our boogeymen, our enemies, monsters in the dark, and we Huntsmen exist to fight them." He said, "They are why we exist... But so many have forgotten that." He was silent for a moment as his eyes scanned over all of them before he said; "Now, like Professor Port, I won't give you any homework like the other professors did when their schedule for the next few days suddenly become full." Before anyone could express their relief, he continued, "But I want you to take notes whenever he tells you his stories."

Everyone expressed their confusion in different ways, furrowed eyebrows, murmuring 'Huh?', looking at him with sheer bafflement in their eyes, prompting him to continue, "When he described about how he defeated a Boarbatusk with only a stick, how old do you think he was then?" he asked, prompting everyone to become silent before he answered it himself, "He was nine."

Instantly, all of the students were shocked into silence, "The man might seem harmless, but he's a Huntsman who hunts Grimm for sport and has been doing so ever since he was a kid. He had accomplished more than you have now by the time he was ten, and he's a Huntsman who became one simply to hunt Grimm. There's a _good_ reason why he's a Professor here." He then concluded with, "So learn from him, take notes. He might be a bit overbearing with his jovial nature, but you can learn a lot from his stories, long-winded as they might be."

After that, he looked at the clock before saying; "Now, I want you to copy the table here, either on paper or your Scroll." He pointed to the table of threat-level of Grimm on the board, "Add some notes about what the classes mean if you need to, and after that, do some self-study until the bell rings."

* * *

 _Later on..._

As the bell signalling the end of the class rang and prompting the students to leave, Jaune said out loud; "Team RWBY, Team JNPR, can I have a moment of your time, please?" he asked of them, to which they nodded at.

After everyone else has left the class, Jaune turned to them as they were still in their seats and said, "...So how did I do? Was I good or not?" he asked with a less stern tone and expression.

The change caused the others to relax, as they knew that they were now speaking to Jaune, their personal mentor instead of Jaune the substitute professor. "Well, you certainly didn't lack charisma, that's for sure." Yang remarked with a grin.

"And the lesson was quite eye-opening." Weiss added, "You are right, many Huntsmen have forgotten that this job was made to fight back the Grimm. Which... is why you've given us... _that_ , correct?"

Jaune nodded, "Correct." He then silently walked towards the door before opening it, revealing Team CRDL right outside, and he said to them, "Mr. Winchester, Mr. Thrush, Mr. Bronzewing and Mr. Lark, are you eavesdropping?"

"N-no sir." The team's leader responded anxiously as he and his team stood up straight rigidly. "W-we were just-"

"If you didn't leave anything behind in the classroom or wanted to ask me something, then please leave. I have business with the team I am responsible for." He sternly said.

"R-right. W-will do, sir." Cardin said before he left, prompting the others to follow him. Jaune closed the door and locked it before returning to where Team JNPR and RWBY were.

"Anyway." Jaune said as he approached the stage and gestured for the eight to come closer, which they did as they now sat at the front-most line of chairs. When he reached the board with the information table he had created, he turned to them and said; "Now I'm going to teach you about something I didn't tell the others before." He revealed, "There is a sixth column here." He tapped on the last empty board to the right of the 'Behemoth' column. "The sixth class."

"...There's a higher threat than the Behemoth-class?" Blake asked in slight disbelief, a sentiment shared by the others, judging by the look on their faces.

"Yes." Jaune nodded, "It's a theoretical sixth-class." He took a marker and wrote a word on the top of the column. "Deity, that's the class' name." He said, "So far though, I've never fought any Grimm that deserves to be put here. If I had, the whole world would've felt our fight."

Nora raised her hand up and asked, "What's a deity?" her tone innocent and curious.

"It's another word for 'god', basically." Ren explained with a grim voice, "What kind of Grimm would be appropriate for that class, do you think?" he asked him.

"The kind of Grimm that can threaten the whole world." Jaune answered it succinctly before he quickly added, "And with what I've seen yesterday, I find myself thinking that there's a possibility that there will be at least one name in this column."

The empty column became very ominous as the atmosphere became very, very tense. "W-why do you say that?" Ruby asked.

He walked to the board again and circled some of the names with the marker, Boarbatusk, King Taijitu, Ursa, Nevermore, the former three were on the 'Wolf' column while the latter was on the 'Tiger' column. "I've faced the transformed version of these Grimm, and all of them are at least a class higher than their average counterparts. If there's a Behemoth-class Grimm that is transformed, such as the Dagon, then it would reach Deity-class easily."

"So they're more dangerous now..." Pyrrha muttered, "How would we fare against them, if I may ask?" she asked.

"Against the ones I faced, one-on-one? You'd win with a bit of effort." Answered Jaune with utter certainty, "Do you want to see what they look like?" he asked, to which they nodded.

A second later, in a burst of speed that no one managed to catch, Jaune had drawn the humanoid Grimm on the board, all four of them.

"They... look like humans now?" June asked in shock.

"No... they look more like-"

"-faunus." Blake finished what her partner was going to say. Their humanoid animal form made them look like demonic faunus with more than just one animal physical trait on their bodies. "Why did they turn into... that?" she asked, a bit rattled by their appearance.

"I don't know." Jaune said with a shake of his head, "But what's clear is that their new form comes with increased power at the cost of their regenerative ability."

Jaune saw their disturbed look change into a shocked one. "Wait, what?" Yang asked out loud, "Y-you're saying that... they can be killed now?"

Jaune smiled, nodded and then raised his hand before anyone could say anything further, "Let me explain: Whenever the usual Grimm die, they disperse into ashes, correct? The reason for this turns out to be because of a fundamental difference between our existence and theirs: Grimm does have a soul... as in one, all spread among them."

He relayed what Penny had said to him about the Grimm, about how the Grimm is a soul existing all across bodies and minds, and right now, in exchange for power, almost each and every one of them have become true individualistic beings but at the cost of them only having one chance at 'life'.

"As always, the good comes with the bad." Jaune concluded, "They're stronger, much better, and needless to say, harder to beat if one doesn't have Mantle or heavy firepower, but once one of them is killed, that one will be no more. It's easier for their number to be whittled down."

With that statement, it was apparent that hope burned inside the eight once again. "Heh... If that's the case, I think I like our chances." Yang stated as she cracked her knuckles with a grin.

"Yup!" Nora agreed, "If we only need to kill the same Grimm once, then we can _make them extinct_!" she declared loudly.

"Still, for that to happen, we still have to fight them." June reminded.

"Then should we hunt them?" Ruby asked Jaune, "This is why you gave us Mantle, right? This is the start of the war you once said."

"Indeed it is." Jaune answered with a nod, "However, we're still in the dark as to where their exact position is." He began, "We, Ozpin, Glynda and others in the know, know that they are underground, but there's no map of the tunnel below Forever Fall, so Oobleck is investigating that. Before anything can be done in regards to them, let's focus on ourselves first."

June grinned as she said; "By that, you mean..."

"It's time to train you even more, yes." Jaune nodded, "Right now, with every single teaching staff being busy with work, there's three free days starting tomorrow. Of course, you've already been given some homework from the others, yes?" he asked, to which all of them nodded with varying degrees of exasperation. "Then starting tomorrow morning, at 08:00 A.M., we, along with Neo and Glynda who will join us at times, will have a training camp in the Emerald Forest."

The announcement was met with enthusiasm, they were smiling as they seemed to be accepting of the idea, with some of the less reserved among them even going as far as to emote, such as Nora with a fist pump, Yang with her 'Oh yeah!', Ruby with her 'Yeesss~!' and June with a continuously repeated nod of her head.

Ren, ever the calmest one out of all of them save for Blake however, said, "But is it okay for us to do that? Practicing out in the open?"

"It'll be a bit risky sure, but you will be tested on using your power at a higher degree, so an open area is a must." Jaune reasoned before he added, "And also, I'm here to tell you firsthand that you will attend this camp with one more person new to their Mantle."

"A new Mantle-user?" Ruby asked, her eyes lit with interest, "Who are they? Do we know them?" her tone curious.

"You know her." Jaune said with a nod before he said; "It will be a very busy three days, so I want you to prepare. You'll have plenty of time to prepare, so do it, pack what you need because once we're there, we won't get out unless three days has passed or when we are needed."

'When we are needed.', he said. They knew what he meant by that, and nodded silently, knowing that if such a thing came to pass, then they would have to go into the fray.

"Then we're finished here. I'll see you tomorrow." As they stood up and began to leave however, Jaune stopped them by saying, "Although, Ms. Belladonna?" he called to her.

"Yes?"

"I need to speak with you for a bit, so please stay." Jaune said before he turned to the others, "This is a private conversation, so if you please..." he gestured to the door.

As they left, some looked at Blake with concern. Ruby because she was Blake's leader, Weiss because she was Blake's partner and June because she had an idea as to what her brother was going to talk about with her.

Nothing could escape his sight after all. In fact, it surprised her that it took him this long to directly discuss it with her.

'Good luck Blake...' June thought before she looked at her brother in the eye, 'Don't be too harsh on her,' was what she seemed to say, and Jaune conveyed his understanding through a nod.

When her teammates left, Blake was alone with the young Professor. Though he had given her a Mantle, which she appreciated, he was still just an acquaintance. She knew June, but her brother is another entity to his own.

"What is it that you want to talk about?" Blake asked. So forgive her if she was a bit guarded as she said so. She might consider June a friend, and she was impressed by how both June and her brother considered Faunus as equals, but-

"I know you're a faunus." Blake immediately fell silent. She had thought about the possibility of him finding out, so she wasn't surprised by his- "And I know you were once a member of the White Fang." Blake's thought processes halted, "Ozpin knew about that since the very beginning, he informed me and Glynda about it, and judging from how you are considerably warm to June, you were the one who helped her in that train incident."

Blake stopped thinking for a long moment. Her face was blank of expressions, her eyes were wide with her pupils shrank. Shakily, she gulped before she said; "...O-Ozpin knew?" Jaune nodded, prompting Blake to shout; "T-then-! W-why didn't he, Glynda or you report me to the authorities?" she asked.

"Because of your horrible disguise." Jaune said with a deadpan tone, "You could not have chosen a more conspicuous cover. If you had used a big beanie, you could give an excuse that you have an ugly scar on the top of your head and you would've been left alone, but no, you chose a _headband with hollow cat ears disguised as a bow_."

She tilted her head down and blushed, both in embarrassment and shame, embarrassment for essentially being chided and ashamed for being chided for her poor choice for a disguise. "B-but what does that have to do with...?"

The answer was not what she expected, "The massive flaw in your disguise showed that you weren't thinking about hiding, but to blend in. Hiding it in plain view like that, one would think that you're saying; 'Come on, figure it out!'. If you're trying to infiltrate Beacon on behalf of White Fang, you could've done a better job covering yourself, but the fact that you didn't tells another story."

"...You mean..." she couldn't believe it, "I'm judged as benign... by the fact that I didn't _try_ hard enough to conceal my ears?" she shook her head in sheer disbelief and said; "W-what kind of reasoning is that?" she asked, "What kind of mind could-?"

"Ozpin's." Was Jaune's concise answer, "Though it _does_ make sense."

"..." The worse thing was, she inwardly agreed. She could've done a better job in disguising her animal trait, but why didn't she? Why did she just wear a bow with hollow interior for her cat ears? If she were on a mission to infiltrate Beacon then she would-...

'...But that was _it_. I _wasn't_ on a mission on behalf of the White Fang, so I didn't go above and beyond to disguise... myself...' She shook her head as she covered her face with both of her hands, "I can't believe it... How? How did I not realize...?" her muffled voice came through her covered mouth. "...I didn't even realize it myself until now..."

She looked up for a moment, and when she saw the sight of Jaune smiling, she felt even more embarrassed as she groaned and covered her whole face with her hands again, "Uuuugghh~" she shook her head, "I can't believe it... I just..."

In trying to not appear too suspicious, she revealed herself like an open book. And the most staggering thing was that the reasoning _made sense_.

She remained that way for another minute before she took a deep breath as she removed her hands off of her face. "...Thank you, for believing that I mean no harm." She said to begin with, "...And I really _don't_." She clarified, "I'm here... because I want to get away from the White Fang, make a real positive difference." She then smiled and said; "Thanks to you, I might be a couple steps closer to doing that."

Jaune nodded before his expression went a bit stern again as he asked; "I know June already knows, but what about the others?" he asked.

"...My partner, Ruby and Yang don't seem to know." She began, "Out of June's team, I suspect Pyrrha and Ren to have suspicions. As for Nora... I... don't know whether she has any idea or not." She grimaced and said; "She can be very unpredictable."

"I see." Was all Jaune said before he asked another question, "Will you tell them?"

Blake was silent as he mulled over the question for a few seconds before she looked at him in the eye and answered, "...I will, one day. Not just what I am but also... who I was before I came to Beacon."

Jaune smiled again, which made Blake fidget. "You have some degree of trust for them." He stated.

"I do." She answered immediately, "They are all good people, even..." she gulped as she admitted, "Even... Weiss..." the Schnee, the heiress to the family that had given a lot of faunus hell, "She may be a prideful snob, but... she's a good person."

"She is." Jaune said, "She's rough around the edges, but she's good."

Blake chuckled a bit and said; "Don't _ever_ let her hear you say that." She playfully warned him.

"No promises on that." Jaune said with a shrug before he went a bit serious again. "Though when you'll reveal it all to them is up to you, just remember that if you want help, I, June and even Glynda will give it as long as you ask."

Blake nodded as she felt a great burden being lifted from her shoulders, "Thank you." She then smiled and added, "...I can see why June idolize you so much."

"Why is that?" Jaune asked.

Blake chuckled and said; "You know... you're reliable, honorable, trustworthy..." 'Not to mention _incredibly_ attractive...' she kept that one to herself, "The kind of older brother anyone would want, really." 'The kind of man that anyone can and would want to rely on, more like.'

"I... I just do what I can."

"...And humble too." Blake added, 'Really, this guy is...', she shook her head before a thought occurred to her, "...You know, June told us that you... left them when you were eleven." She began, "You decided to live in the Wilds for seven years... May I..." she stopped to gulp a lump in her throat before she asked, "May I ask why?"

She had heard June's explanation, which went along the lines of...

" _He wanted to help people with his strength, so he left."_

But really, at eleven? Sure, he ended up becoming strong, but... an eleven year-old shouldn't have such a strong pull to go outside of their comfort zone to become a Wandering Huntsman. And from the looks of it, the situation in June and Jaune's household was as good as any household can get, so what gives? She wanted to hear _his_ explanation.

"...It's a long story, which I'll make a bit short." Jaune said, "I left because I wanted to make good use of the strength that I have. Back then, I wasn't as strong as I am now, but I've earned enough to convince myself to leave. That's all there is to it."

Considering it's basically what June said, Blake fully accepted it. She sighed with a smile as she looked at June's brother, 'Yeah, I can see why she idolizes you so much.'

"...Hm?" Jaune hummed, "Ms. Belladonna, is something wrong?"

Blake simply shook her head and said; "No, nothing's wrong... Everything's fine." 'More than fine, actually.' She thought as she looked at Jaune.

* * *

 _Meanwhile..._

"So... you've chosen Mantle." Ozpin said to Amber, standing in front of him across his desk before he sighed, "...I can't say that I didn't see that coming, but... at the same time, it is quite a disappointment."

"...I'm not going to apologize." Amber bluntly stated. Wearing an unbuttoned long-sleeved short-edged white jacket over a tight fit grey-colored t-shirt, a pair of white pants and black shoes, she defiantly glared at Ozpin, "It was _my_ power, _my_ choice."

"I know, I know." Ozpin said as he raised his hands in a placating gesture, he smiled then, a smile that conveyed a sense of sheer exhaustion and said; "It was indeed _your_ power, _you_ inherited it, so you have the right to do what you want with it, I'm just... a bit sad. After all, it's a legendary power from a moment in time immortalized into a fairy tale."

"...You've invested your life in this, haven't you?" Amber asked.

"You can say that." Ozpin said with a nod, "Now that you don't have it anymore, how do you feel?" he asked.

"Liberated." Amber said, "Mantle doesn't have the same... weight, as it were. It isn't a role, it's just a power. I can live with having power and the consequences, even if it ended up with me having _another_ role... Because at the very least, I chose to have this instead of it being forced on me."

Ozpin let out another tired sigh as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, "I see..." he then smiled again and said; "Thank you for telling me. You didn't have to, but I appreciate it nonetheless."

"...Well..." Amber fidgeted a bit before saying, "It doesn't feel right to not tell you this myself. Considering that you've been looking for me and the other Maidens for all your life, I thought you should know." She then nodded, "If that's all, then... Good day, Mr. Ozpin."

With that, Amber left Ozpin alone, and then, once she was out of the room, Ozpin leaned back on his chair, tilted his head up and sighed as the sound of the gears behind him echoed. "...Everything's changing." He let out a very faint, small smile as he said; "Maybe I should consider retiring once this is all over..."

Not today though. Right now, with how events were starting to unfold, there was still work for him to do. Though with Jaune, his Mantle and what he's capable of, everything seemed to be working out well. To the point where he could humor the idea of him retiring.

"It's been so long since I thought about..." he scoffed at realizing something about that, "Come to think of it, I've never even thought about retiring once, have I? Not even as a joke." He sighed again and muttered, "...Jaune Arc... you've changed much more than you might have realized."

One day, if one were to look back and read the account of the things that happen in this time, perhaps they would think it was a legend, stories of old that need not be examined thoroughly as a source of fact. Hopefully however, it will be regarded as history. A very bizarre point in history... but a history nonetheless, a turning point that no one can ever regard as anything less than fact.

'Whatever comes next will be the point where Jaune and the others will have to show the whole world what they're capable of... Hopefully all of them are ready without exception.'

* * *

 _The next day..._

At 07:45 A.M., a group of eight Huntsmen in-training walked towards where they started off their initiation test, the cliff with the in-built launch pads. "Heh, never thought I'd see these things again..." Yang remarked.

Like the others with her, she carried with her a backpack which contained what they deemed essential for their training camp, consisting of clothes, towel, soap, shampoo, bug-repellent, and other things one need in a camping trip of any kind along with their respective weapons.

"Yeah... let alone that we're going to use them again." Ruby added.

They had been messaged by Jaune the night before to come to the cliff where the launching pads were, which had been set to 'automatic' and will launch people who stood on it for five seconds, and use them to get where they were supposed to go: The ruin where they acquired their relics, "This time though, we'll all be using our Mantle." June said with a smile, "I wonder how far we'll get now."

"Considering my Mantle, I don't think I'm going to get very far." Ren stated as if it was an undisputable fact.

"Out of everyone, yours _does_ seem to be the least suitable for mobility." Blake remarked before adding to herself, 'Though what it's capable of doing isn't a joke either...'

"Don't worry Ren! You can piggyback on me!" Nora said.

Ren sighed in response to that, "I'll pass." He said, and Nora replied with a shrug.

Weiss crossed her arms as she looked to the horizon and said; "Hm... I didn't notice this before, but considering our location and how the ruin is located on the other end, we're going east from here, right?"

"Yes." June said to her before she added, "I think we should have Pyrrha lead the way this time, we'll never get lost then."

Yang immediately snorted while everyone had to stop for a while to get the double meaning. When they did, everyone let out at least a laugh, and June grinned at her partner, "Sorry, I couldn't resist." She said with a shrug.

"It's alright." Pyrrha waved it off with a genuine, disarming smile. "It's not like I never thought of that myself." She shrugged.

Blake looked at Yang and said; "See that? _That's_ how you make a joke."

"Oh you just don't understand the art that is puns." Yang said with a mock angry glare.

"Oh we understand." Weiss said, aiding her partner, "It's just that you're so bad at it."

"Heh, trust me, like great artists of old, I'll be vindicated one day as the best punmaster that has ever lived!" she exclaimed with confidence.

"So... never, then?" Ruby asked in a rather innocent tone but with a face that spelled 'mischief' all over it.

Unlike the two before, it actually caused Yang to deflate for a moment before she leaped and put Ruby in a headlock, "Rubyyyy...! I'm your sister and partner, could you be _a bit_ more supportive~?!"

"N-not with bad puns I won't...!"

"Why you...!"

Everyone else laughed at the sisters' antics before Yang let go of Ruby after a couple of seconds of putting her sister on a headlock. June cleared her throat and said; "Well... all this aside, let's get to it, yeah? Is everyone ready?" she asked as she looked at her team, who all nodded.

Ruby shook the slight dizziness off before she said; "Yang, Blake, Weiss, are you ready?" she asked, and they all nodded. "Alright then, seems like we're all ready. Then let's get to the pads, people!"

With that, the joint team stepped onto their chosen pads at the same exact time. They heard a tick coming from the pads, and June yelled; "Four seconds left!"

Another tick echoed, and Ruby yelled, "Three seconds left!"

Tick. "Two seconds left!"

Tick. "One second left!"

Tick.

With a loud discharging noise, the pads catapulted them on their way at the exact same time, The force of the pad sent them flying fast towards the forest, and while in mid-air, they began to use their new powers.

June's forehead was covered by the M-shaped plate made out of her blue force-field before she created a pair of flat disks with her force-field, which she then used to 'surf' on and increase her speed.

A massive crimson halo manifested over Pyrrha's back, its diameter was easily 150 centimeters/5 feet wide with her head right at the center of its hole. She then tilted her body down slightly with her head still facing forward and _flew_ without wings with the magnetic field of the whole planet helping her.

Nora grinned as a pair of small, glowing, metal-like pink wings segmented into three on each side manifested above her ears. She pointed her slightly opened palm backwards as she extended her arms to the sides and allowed a massive amount of electricity to course through her body in pink-colored lightning sparks and focused it all on her hands, creating an upstream flow of air which she used to glide.

Ren was about to accept that he couldn't do what the others were doing with their Mantle when suddenly, he landed on something solid. He looked down and saw that he was standing on a surfboard-shaped forcefield. He looked back at where June was, far in front of him and saw her raise her hand with a thumbs up, and with a grateful smile, Ren gave her a thumbs up as well.

With a flash of scarlet and silver, Ruby's hooded mantle began perpetually disintegrating and regenerating its edge. Her hooded mantle turned into red rose petals at its lower end, which then disintegrated into sparking, craclking silver lightning, as if a form of energy discharge from her using her Mantle. Ruby then broke into a run mid-air, her feet caused small red and silver sparks every time she made a 'step'.

A burst of cyan-colored spark envelope Weiss' head for a moment before it came into shape, which was a metallic cyan diadem with a glowing opal-shaped jewel right at the center of her forehead. She then summoned many glyphs in quick succession, skipping on them step-by-step to go forward with speed that nearly matched Ruby's.

A black shadow loomed over Blake and consumed her whole before it turned into a large, black-furred winged lion with blank yellow eyes with Blake sitting on top of it. She petted its mane and rode the beast with a confident smile on her face and a longer, more wavy black hair that now reached her knees and seemed to move out of its own will.

The blond-haired bombshell that was Yang grinned before she let loose, causing a twin bursting golden flames to come out of her shoulder blades as if they contained a pair of jet exhausts. The pillars of jutting flames then aligned themselves to their outer sides before its intensity increased, increasing its size before it then changed its form into a pair of gigantic wings made out of flames. Her wingspan was easily 8 meters/26'8 feet long and the construct was big enough for her to fly alongside Blake by beating her wings.

As one, the eight made their way east, seven of them with their Mantles while the one boy was helped by June thanks to the fact that his lack the mobility enhancement that the others' Mantles gave.

Unlike the first time they did this, they reached the ruins in record time: Ten full seconds of soaring/running/skipping through the sky allowed them to reach what took them quite a long time had they walked their way there.

They all landed, one-by-one and turned off their Mantle as they faced Jaune, who had been standing there, waiting with his hands on the pocket of his suit/long coat. "Good morning." He greeted all of them with a small smile, "Good use of Mantle back there. Ren, I noticed you didn't use yours."

"Lack of mobility enhancement." Ren stated monotonously with a shrug.

"I know. It's not your fault, Ren." Jaune said with a nod before he turned to his sister with a smile, "You've also done well to pay attention to Ren and give him assistance. Great work, June."

June smiled back and shrugged, trying to play off the compliment coolly, "All in a day's work for a team leader, right?"

He nodded at that, and turned to address everyone, "Welcome back to Emerald Forest. From here, we'll get to the cabin where we'll be staying."

"Cabin?" June asked with raised eyebrows before she looked around at the forest , "There's a cabin out here?"

"Yes." Jaune then began to walk away from them, "Let's take a walk there, it's not too far from here, but it is quite deep in the forest." As the others began to follow him, he added, "And don't worry about any Grimm. Drei has that taken care of."

"Drei? Where is he?" Ruby asked, "Is he around?"

"Patrolling." Jaune said as he turned to Ruby, "He's making sure none of the transformed Grimm are around. He's... a bit on edge after what happened yesterday."

As they entered the forest, Blake asked a question, "So... if Drei is like the transformed Grimm, then why is he so different?" she asked, which piqued the interest of everyone else there.

Jaune was quiet for a couple of seconds. He mulled over on where he should go with answering that, as it was something that he had confirmed with Drei himself.

" _I chose myy fate. They didd not."_

On one side, Penny was right, Drei did this out of its own volition. However, on the other side, he didn't say whether or not there's a force that controls the Grimm.

" _What I know... iss that there's always a presence within my mind that iss not mine. It is very, very weakk now that I am an individuall. But back then, it was consstant even if it's silennt most of the time. I neverr bothered to discover itss source, and perhaps I should not. Lest I find something... unpleassant."_

"Drei did what he did out of his own free will." He decided to be truthful, "He did that to himself, but these Grimm are different." He then continued, "It was not done because they voluntarily want to, but they were, by external forces, forced to do so."

The answer brought about a tense silence that lasted for a couple of seconds until Blake asked, "...What do you mean by external forces?" she asked, "If you've pushed them far enough, then shouldn't it be that they _collectively_ decided to change themselves?"

Jaune shook his head, "They're of one soul, but not of one mind, Blake. With their number, they can't _collectively_ do that."

"So... _you're_ the external force, right? Considering that you're the one who reduced their numbers and all..." June asked.

"I am one of the external force, yes." Jaune confirmed.

"...You said external force _s_." Weiss muttered, "As in... plural. Are you saying that the Grimm... they are controlled by... _something else_ to change?"

The atmosphere became even more tense at that. Yang chuckled nervously, "W-what, you're saying that the Grimm is... that they have some sort of master? Man, they must be a _really_ grim person, huh?"

Immediately, everyone other than Jaune, June and Nora closed their eyes as they tilted their heads down. Some of them shook their heads, some of them covered their eyes with either one or both of their palms, some did both.

"Well, whoever or whatever they are, if they _do_ exist," He said, beginning to paint the situation in a more positive light, "then it's just another enemy to face. Think about it like that." He advised them.

"Still, if that were true... Then could this person or... something have been responsible for the state that we live in?" Pyrrha asked, "I still remember what you told us yesterday in class, about how we are sequestered by the Grimm's existence. If there is a central leading figure of the Grimm could they have been...?"

"Maybe. Then again... all of this is just conjecture." Jaune reminded them, "Let's focus on improving first before we move on to anything else. Your handle of Mantle is good, but it can be improved still."

In silence, they continued to walk, and a couple of minutes later, they've finally arrived: It was a big, two-story cabin on a small clearing, made out of wood that looked as if it had endured the test of time and nature's progress for quite a long while. It had a terrace and from the small window on the topmost part of one of the wall, it seemed to have an attic.

Jaune and the others arrived from a rather wide expanse made by having the trees rooted off so long ago, indicating that the place was once used as a permanent residence. "Wow, it's much better looking than I expected." Yang remarked.

"It _does_ look old, but it's quite big." Weiss commented.

"Indeed, it surprised me at first too." Jaune said, "C'mon, the new Mantle-user is in there as-"

As if on cue, the front door of the cabin that leads to the terrace opened, and Amber stepped out with her brown eyes opened wide. "Jaune!" she yelled his name as she quickly approached him.

Something was wrong, Jaune knew that immediately when Amber looked stricken with panic. He immediately closed the distance between them, leaving a confused group of Huntsmen in-training slightly behind. "Amber, what's wrong?" he asked.

She stopped a few feet away from him and pointed to the door where she came out from.

Out the door was a figure with familiar facial features of ginger hair, but not the one that he and Amber first saw back at the abandoned factory in the agricultural district, but the buxom young lady they had left behind at the hotel that morning.

"I thought you were-"

"I was, but I caught something worthwhile that I cut my trip back home short." Penny said as she strode to him and revealed; "I know where they are hiding. However, we must be quick to get there."

A look of surprise was on Jaune's face for a moment while the others, though confused, were tense as they had a _very_ slight idea as to what was going on, "Where, and why?" Jaune immediately asked.

"Mountain Glenn. They have spread themselves all over the abandoned tunnel within, preparing for an attack that will destroy the city whole if left as is." She said, "Pre-emptive strike is necessary if Vale is to survive. We must act. Now."

* * *

 **To be Continued...**

* * *

 **So the changed Grimm was found out. Of course Jaune and the others will come, but what will come of it is the question.**


	15. Pre-Emptive Strike

**Disclaimer:** I don't own RWBY

* * *

" _They're inside Mountain Glenn, you say? Well, the underground tunnel beneath it_ is _vast, both the artificial and natural ones... Not to mention what lies in there..."_ Bartholomew Oobleck's voice echoed through Ozpin's Scroll as he and Glynda stood around the device placed on his desk.

" _I, Team RWBY and JNPR along with Amber are going there right now, Penny is showing us the way."_ Jaune's voice informed them through the same Scroll, indicating that this was a conference call. _"Glynda, if you can assist us, it would be very appreciated."_

"Of course, but I must know where you are going." Glynda said to Jaune, "Where is Drei? Is the wolf with you?"

" _He's somewhere else, I'm assuming that he's still patroling, but we've no time to inform him."_

"Very well, I'll inform the Council to try and warn the citizens." Ozpin said, "Please, try to contain your fight to a small area. The tunnels you're going into is durable, but if it spills out into the city..."

" _Hopefully it won't come to that."_ Jaune said.

" _I will order the excavation team to back off for now in case that anything slips out. Better safe than sorry after all. Good hunting to you, Mr. Arc, and send my regards to Team RWBY, JNPR along with Ms. Amber and Ms. Penny as well."_ Said Oobleck.

" _Thank you professor!"_ They heard Ruby Rose's voice said out loud before Bart disconnected.

" _Glynda, we're going south of Beacon. Penny's leading us to a tunnel near the southern wall of Vale. We'll be there in about thirty seconds."_

"Very well." Glynda said before she looked at Ozpin, prompting him to nod almost instantly, "I'll be with you in about five." She said before she quickly went for one of the windows in the office, pulled it open and then flew out, leaving the office to take to the sky.

"Keep yourself safe, everyone." Ozpin said to Jaune and everyone who were with him before he grabbed his Scroll and disconnected the call. He quickly typed in a number, called it and after a couple of seconds, a woman's voice responded, _"Ozpin... to what do I owe this call?"_

"Councilwoman Scarlett, I have something that you _must_ hear, no matter what." Ozpin stated, his voice grim, "Call the others as well. This concerns the safety of our city."

" _...I shouldn't have asked, you_ never _waste a private call on personal matters. Very well, I'll make the call."_

* * *

 **Pre-Emptive Strike**

* * *

As he ran, Jaune placed back his Scroll to his suit's interior pocket. He was carrying Penny on his back as his students and Amber were above him, spread out as they were flying with their Mantles, save for Ren who was once again helped by June.

Amber's body and head was covered with inter-connected glowing orange lines with many sharp edges that formed a pattern almost tribalistic in its appearance. She was rendered afloat by a spiralling air current that was too precise to be natural.

Team RWBY and JNPR, though had gotten somewhat used to it, were initially surprised by the ability she possessed and the degree of control she already had despite being a new Mantle-user.

None of them knew that her power was somewhat familiar to her already. Her understanding and grasp of it was helped by the fact that when she had Fall Maiden power, she was able to manipulate some forces of nature. Though with Mantle, it was more than just a tool to be used.

A Mantle was a part of her very being, not a foreign force that took residence in her body, but her soul made manifest. It was _her_ , and as such, like Glynda, her Mantle provided her with a new awareness thanks to how her powers work.

Now, she was nature as much as it was her. Everything it felt, she felt them as well, she understood it, she _was_ it, and as such, she could control the forces it possessed as long as she put enough of an effort, which was somewhat overwhelming.

'Mantle... Even now, I'm still finding it a bit hard to believe... how much power is contained within a soul.' She thought to herself.

She then felt someone coming from behind thanks to the displacement of air caused by a fast moving object to which she was quite sensitive of. She turned back to see what it was and saw Glynda Goodwitch arriving.

"Sorry I'm late." Said the telekinetic, "It took me quite a while to find you."

"It's only been seven seconds, professor." June said in response to Glynda expressing her regret of being late for just _two seconds_ , saying what everyone wanted to say to her. "You're only two seconds late, don't worry about it."

"Hm." Glynda hummed noncommittally before she looked at where Jaune and Penny were, 'So that's Penny...' she thought as she stared at the gynoid with a frown, 'Why is she not using her body? Her Mantle's lack of mobility enhancement like Mr. Lie Ren's?'

Her gaze must've telegraphed her thoughts very blatantly as Nora said, "She said that she can't run or fly as fast as us with her body! At first, with the way she said it, we thought she was sick, but she doesn't look weak so that can't be it, so we tried to find out why she said that, but we can't find out why because we're pressed on time!" she explained it in one breath.

She looked at the back of Jaune's head before saying, 'So you haven't told them yet?'

His response was mental, _"It'll be shown once we get there anyway, it's what Penny wanted to do in the first place."_

With a sigh, Glynda accepted that. After all, she saw their destination right in front of them anyway, which they will reach in about two... one...

A small cave on a slightly raised ground greeted them as they stopped a good distance away. Its appearance was ominous with the darkness that covered its interior that contrasted the bright sunny morning of the day.

"There." Penny said as she pointed to the cave, "That's where you need to go, go to the lowest level, the bigger the tunnel becomes, then you're going the right way. Ms. Glynda." She turned to the deputy headmistress, "You will need to use your Mantle to scan the whole area and guide the others."

"You're not going to come along?" Glynda asked.

"No, this body isn't really suitable for combat." She said, which prompted the others not in the know to look at her with frowns on their faces, "Which was why I asked you to carry me, Jaune. If I had my main body, or even just the one I used to meet you, I would be able to come with you."

"Uh... what is she talking about?" asked Weiss as she shot a befuddled look at Penny.

Penny squiggled a bit, prompting Jane to put her back on her feet. She then extended her arm towards the cave and a second later, a tiny bird came out of the cave and landed on her forearm.

"I've forgotten to tell you, have I...?" the others then saw as the bird unraveled into glowing strings colored in viridian that then went into her left eye. "I'm a Mantle-user, just like you."

Save for Glynda, Amber and Jaune, everyone else's eyes widened. She then turned to them and bowed slightly; "My name is Penny. I apologize for cutting this first meeting short, but I'm sure we'll see each other again soon enough." She then straightened her back and waved at them, "Have fun storming the lair~!"

Beneath the sweater she was wearing, an octagonal-shaped panel protruded from her back before it crawled out of her collar with eight spindly steel legs, showing that it was a spider-like drone with a glowing Dust core at its center.

"Gah! What the hell?!" Yang screamed, the others as the drone then showed the tiny jet boosters beneath it and then lifted off fast, leaving them far behind in just a couple of seconds. "What was-? Did that just-?"

She, along with the others saw as the girl's body then began to fall, which Jaune stopped by catching her mid-way and then put her down on the ground. "Yes, that _did_ just happen." Jaune said to Yang, "She's a gynoid, a female human robot."

"A-And she has Mantle? Wait, does that mean that she has _Aura_?!" Weiss yelled, "But... that level of technology is... Oh my god..." she muttered as a sudden realization struck her mind, "Is she Atlas' prope-"

"Careful now." Jaune warned as he looked at Weiss with a stern glare that stopped her right in her tracks, physically and mentally, "Be _very_ careful _,_ Ms. Schnee."

Weiss gulped as everyone else went silent at the look he gave to them. It reminded them of their very first 'fight' with him, it was as if he became the enemy that he was to the Grimm, forcing them to stand down and for Weiss to apologize, "I-I apologize." She said formally as she cast her head down slightly, "I-it wasn't my intention to refer to her like an object, i-it just... came out."

Even from the short time in which she saw Penny, she thought of her as human _until_ her robotic nature was revealed. Remembering that with a much clearer mind made Weiss regret the choice of words.

She heard a sigh from Jaune before he said; "Alright then." He said before he looked at the now inert body, at the body's closed eyes... before it and the clothes the body was wearing unraveled themselves into glowing viridian strings that then went and sank into the ground, shocking everyone who had no clue as to what her Mantle was.

"D-did she just...?" Yang began to speak before she shook her head, "Man, it's one thing after the other so fast..." she said, unknowingly saying what the others were also thinking.

Jaune shook his head with a smile before he stood up from kneeling beside where Penny's body was and said; "You are right in a way, Weiss." Jaune said to the girl, catching her attention, "Atlas had a hand in creating her." He then walked towards the cave and said; "But she's not their property. Not anymore at least."

With that said, the group began their approach, with Glynda walking past Jaune as she said; "I'll scan the area first, give me a few minutes." She said out loud before she touched a part of the cave's wall and closed her eyes.

"So... how did you meet Penny?" Ruby asked, "I mean, it's not everyday that you get to meet a robot." the girl in red-and-black smiled at that, "Can you... tell us?" she asked, a bit bashful but curious.

"...There was this time when I was in Atlas for a little while." Jaune began his explanation before he went for the short version, in which he didn't give a whole lot of the details involved in said story, such as the town, the festival nor about Penny's handler.

He did, however, mentioned the White Fang and what they did, "I think I know that town, I remember seeing what happened reported on the news once,." Said Weiss as she clicked her tongue, "Ck! Disgusting, absolutely unacceptable. I also remember that despite what happened, the casualties were low and the perpetrators were captured." She then smiled as she added; "Thank you for that, Professor."

Blake crossed her arms as a small frown was on her face. Though she may have left the White Fang, there was still a small, a fraction of attachment she had for her old group. There was that impulse from her heart that told her to defend their actions... But her mind prevailed and she didn't do so.

'They were in the wrong.' Blake thought to herself, referring to the White Fang perpetrators, 'Burning buildings, looking to kill humans... Arson and attempted murder among list of other crimes. What would it accomplish other than creating more hatred?' She was glad that she never went too deep in the abyss that was the fanaticism that fueled the White Fang.

Blake then felt a hand touching her shoulder. She looked and saw June, offering her a smile and a comforting squeeze which Blake accepted wholeheartedly with a smile of her own.

"I've mapped the area." Glynda said as she walked towards them with her Mantle being shown, the purple third eye construct floating right above her forehead, "Here, I'm going to rela-"

"Hold on." Jaune said, stopping Glynda before he turned to the students, "Before we do that, we have to make it clear: Some of you have to stay up here."

A look of indignant shock was on their faces, "What?! Why?!" was the gist of what they were all saying. "Why should we split up? Shouldn't we all go together?" Ruby asked.

Glynda pitched in with a look of sudden realization, "No, Professor Jaune is right." She said, "Some of your Mantle will be unsuitable in small interior spaces and someone needs to be out here and keep an eye on this entry point." She then explained, "The tunnel within goes deep, it will take quite a while to get down without risking shortcuts, so some of us has to stay out, a back-up plan, as it were."

Jaune then immediately picked up from that, "June, Ruby, Blake and Ren, you're with us. Pyrrha, Nora, Yang and Weiss, you stay here with Amber." He ordered, "You'll be temporary leader for the moment." He added to the former Maiden.

She nodded at that and asked, "What do you want us to do?"

"Stay around here. Don't go anywhere else whatever happens and watch each other's back." Jaune ordered, "Everyone, don't let your guard down. If you happened to get cornered, then retreat. Even if I've defeated some of them, it's possible that there are stronger variants of the changed Grimm."

Everyone nodded before Jaune said; "Those who will come with us, come near us.", to which June, Ruby, Blake and Ren responded with a nod before they walked closer to them.

June looked back at Pyrrha when her partner tapped her on the back and said; "Good luck, June."

The blonde smiled as she reciprocated the gesture by patting Pyrrha's back, "...Thanks, Pyrrha." She said back as both of them smiled at each other.

Blake looked at Weiss, and saw the Schnee giving her a nod of acknowledgement as she said; "Keep yourself safe."

"...I will." Blake replied, a bit surprised, pleasantly so, at the honesty in her tone of voice. "You as well, Weiss." She said, to which Weiss nodded.

"Renny..." Nora said to her friend, "When you come back, tell me if you found any gigantic sloth Grimm inside."

Ren simply smiled at Nora's statement. She expected him to return, using the word 'when' instead of 'if', and it was her way of expressing her trust in him. "I will." He said.

Mid-way, Ruby was stopped by Yang as she grabbed her by the shoulder. She looked back, and saw her sister with concern apparent on her expression as she said; "Be careful, Ruby." She said, and there was a pleading tone in her voice.

Ruby nodded as she gently touched Yang's hand, "I will." She promised her before she walked to where Jaune and Glynda was along with the others.

Glynda then turned to address June, Ruby, Blake and Ren, "Now, I will be relaying the map to you, so expect a little buzz in your head..." she said as she slowly closed her eyes.

The four staggered a bit as their minds suddenly _knew_ the pathways of the tunnel in the cave, as if they had mapped it themselves.

June shook her head with a groan before she rubbed her forehead and said; "Ugh... Right, know where to go now. Good." She gave a thumbs up.

"Yeah... we're good..." Ruby said as she was still closing her eyes while Blake and Ren remained silent though also nursing their light headaches.

After they were split-up and those going to the cave were shown the way to go, Jaune said, "Those who are staying here... Keep yourselves safe and if it comes to a fight, fight well." He then looked at the darkness inside the cave and declared; "Alright then... Let's go!"

* * *

 _Meanwhille..._

Drei opened his mouth and let out a huge yawn as he walked through the tall trees of Emerald Forest. How long had he been walking here? The sun had finished its rising and setting routine at least once, and it had rose up again just before.

And for what? His effort bore no fruits, his kin who had undergone a massive change out of the whim of something other than their own will, barring them from becoming like he was, were nowhere to be found.

If asked, he wouldn't deny that their existence puts him a bit on edge. After all, unlike he and the very few who chose the same path as he did, these Grimm were no individuals, but weapons, tools, under the whim of the presence that had been inside them ever since their inception.

He willingly molted off his armor and became a singular being to become more than just a part of the collective, power being the furthest thing in his mind when he chose to do that because of the fact that he was _already_ powerful, having lived as long as he was.

Those Grimm though? They were immature when they decided to transform with a reversal of his way of transformation: Where he molted off his armor, theirs covered a lot more than any normal Grimm's bone-plated natural armor would.

Everything about them made him feel the burning hatred within him that was once directed at the humans and faunus. This was why he had been awake for a whole day and some, patrolling in a slightly agitated state.

Now though. his heart and head had been cooled down a bit, and his body was a bit tired, so he wanted to rest, so he began his walk back towards the place where he had made his new home. The distance between his current location and the fact that he was going rather slowly spelled of at least an hour of walking until he reached his destination.

He passed by trees, some ruins in the forest that was used long ago by people as a place to live and function as a society within this forest as he kept on walking and walking while time kept on ticking...

Mid-way, he stopped as he felt something through his paws, a low rumbling from deep beneath the ground that reminded him of the same kind of vibration that he felt yesterday, right before the Dust ores turned bright, menacing red...

Where? Where was the nearest entry to these tunnels that he could get into? Something had happened outside of his knowledge, and he had a sinking feeling in his stomach that told him it involved his changed brethren.

He growled as he shook his head to get the tiredness off of his head. He looked around him and began to sniff the air, trying to find anything that could give him a lead, a scent of something in the environment that could point him to where he needed to go.

Then, he got what he was looking for, a faint, familiar scent coming from far away, at a different direction from where he had been going before. He galloped, following the scent in hopes that _they_ knew what was going on.

* * *

 _Some time before..._

The reason why Jaune chose June, Ruby, Ren and Blake to accompany him and Glynda was simple: All of their Mantles did not require wide open area to work best and all of them, save for Ren, have the highest mobility in tight spaces compared to the others.

Glynda was flying, Jaune and Ruby were running, June was using her Mantle to carry herself and Ren while Blake literally moved within the shadows that were either created by or were affected by her Mantle, moving as fast as the others were.

She was within a moving shadow creeping on the cave's floor beneath Jaune and Ruby. Save for Blake, all of them had their Mantles activated.

Jaune's white cape, Glynda's purple third eye, June's blue M-shaped headplate Ruby's silver lightning, Blake's black shadow... and Ren's magenta-colored spheres rotating around his neck, as if they were some form of necklace.

Deeper and deeper they went, going as fast as they were capable of in case for everyone else save for Ruby and Jaune, knowing that their speed outranked the others' by a large margin. True to what Penny said, the deeper they went, the bigger the tunnel became, and its current size suggested that they've gone quite deep.

"Isn't it a bit weird?" Ruby asked out loud, "Where's the Grimm? I thought that they'd be guarding this place right now."

"It's likely they're holing themselves in _really_ deep." June said, "And I don't think we've reached Mountain Glenn yet, so that could also be why."

"Ms. Arc is right." Glynda said, "We've yet to reach Mountain Glenn. Vertically, we've gone far down, but we still need to close a rather large distance before we reach it."

"How long will that be, at our current pace?" asked Ren.

"...Give it another minute." Glynda said.

A literal minute later, they saw the end of the tunnel, through which they arrived at some sort of artificial tunnel, complete with concrete, steel and even some sort of rails on the ground, showing that this was a subway system.

Blake popped up from the shadow as they all stopped, "...So this is where the map gets a bit more streamlined." She said, "A subway tunnel?" she looked at one end leading north, "Leading to Vale? Does this lead to Mountain Glenn?"

"Yes. The other end of this tunnel, leading to the city, has been walled up for at least a hundred meters with concrete and steel." Glynda answered Blake as they stepped into the abandoned subway tunnel, "Have you ever heard what happened in Mountain Glenn? How Vale tried to expand their territory, only for it to fail because of human error and over-confidence?"

"I have." Ruby said with a somberly voice, "Back in Signal, it's one subject that is kept repeated in History lesson. But... I don't know a lot about the details."

"...Everything was in place for Mountain Glenn to be another area of Vale." Glynda said, "Methods of transportation was built, homes had been made, everything was ready... But we overestimated ourselves and underestimated the Grimm. All that's left of Mountain Glenn now are ruins."

She shook her head to clear her mind before saying; "From here," she decided to go on with the mission at hand, "We'll go there." She pointed at one of the tunnel's ends, "We're in the subway route that will directly take us to the heart of the mountain. It's a straight line from here to there, and strangely..." she scowled at this, "No sign of Grimm... I wonder why that is-"

The earth suddenly rumbled violently. Jaune looked up and saw how the concrete above them were beginning to fall down and to him, time itself began to slow down as his Mantle materialized.

"Hm!" he hit the nearby wall, creating a sizable hole in length and height, through which he quickly placed his immobile friends and placed them there before he entered it himself. Time resumed its normal pace, and everyone else were staggered by how they were suddenly somewhere else.

"W-what happened?! Is it an earthquake?!" Ruby yelled out as the whole subway tunnel right outside the newly-made artificial cave was beginning to be covered with debris of dirt, rock and concrete.

"No." Jaune said, "They must've ignited some Dust ores deep down for some reason. They did the same thing when Drei and I tried to find them yesterday."

"...Could it be that... they know that we're here?" Blake asked.

"Do they have a sensor of some kind?" June continued that train of thought further. "If they know we're near them, they might be trying to hinder us while keeping their numbers intact..."

As the way they came in was completely closed when the rumbling finally died down, Glynda sighed, "Either way, we have to find a new way through this place..." she then turned to Ren with an expectant look, "Mr. Ren, if you please use your Mantle?"

Ren nodded before he mentally moved one of his magenta spheres and shot it to the nearby wall, whereupon it seeped into the solid wall as if it was water. Then, from where it entered the wall, the dull brown color of the stone wall turned into a dark shade of magenta that shaped itself into a perfect circle.

After a moment, he turned to Jaune, who nodded and approached the dark magenta circle and lightly hit it with the back of his left hand, prompting it to crumble into dusts, showing a newly made tunnel with a perfectly circular shape.

"Alright then... Let's go. Everyone, form a ring around Ren." Jaune said, and they continued their way.

* * *

 _Meanwhile..._

"Did anyone feel that?" Pyrrha asked the others with her, "Is it just me, or was there some sort of rumbling?"

"No." Said Amber, "It wasn't just you, I felt it as well. Like a small earthquake deep down... Either they're fighting, or it's something else, maybe something like what caused yesterday's explosion..."

"...How could you two even-?" Yang was about to ask before she shook her head, "Oh. Right, heightened senses, I forgot." Pyrrha, with her enhanced grasp over magnetic field as a whole, must be more attuned to the vibrations of the earth while Amber, with her nature magic-like power must have something similar to that effect.

"Hm... so something's happened to them down there..." Weiss said as she cupped her chin, "Could they be...? Well, with Jaune and Professor Glynda, I'm sure they'll be fine, but..."

"I wish we were there with them." Nora said with a pout on her face and her arms crossed, "Sure, I'm a bit useless in really enclosed areas, but I can still be of help somehow, you know?"

Pyrrha patted the shorter ginger-haired girl's shoulder, "I know how you feel, but we're entrusted to guard their backs here."

"Well, what are we even doing here anyway?" Nora asked, and the others noticed how Nora was not being her happy-go-lucky self, "We've been doing nothing while they're going deep down, it's really making me uneasy."

There was silence as they all digested what Nora said. She was being rather... gloomy. And knowing that this was _Nora Valkyrie_ disturbed them, 'Is this how she is without Ren?' Pyrrha and Weiss wondered.

"Hey, like it or not, we're told to be here." Yang said with a shrug.

"And we _do_ work better in open areas anyway." Amber added.

"Yeah... You know, come to think of it, you said that your Mantle is... nature manipulation?" Yang asked, "When you say nature, what do you mean by that, exactly?"

"Well, by nature, I mean... nature." Amber stated helpfully, "Mostly natural phenomenon and objects, such as the weather, the earth on our feet, things like that."

"Hm... What about that gynoid girl?" asked Weiss, "Penny was her name, right? I saw her body turned to... _strings_. What kind of Mantle does she have?"

Amber opened her mouth as she was about to answer her question before a black blur arrived at the scene. The wolf, Drei, stopped and looked around, and after he turned to look at each and all of the five of them there, he asked; "Where iss Jaune?"

"Uh... he and the others are in there." Yang pointed to the cave, "Why?"

"I senssed a rumbling deep down. Are he and the others...?"

"Yes." Amber said, "They're going to the lair of the changed Grimm down there."

He then looked at them all one-by-one again with a frown on his canine visage. He let out a low growl that made everyone around him tense up a bit. "...He told you to stayy?"

"Yes, as a back-up." Weiss said before she added, "Our Mantle is ill-suited for combat situation in small, enclosed areas."

Drei huffed and shook his head, "That rumbling... it was planned."

Instantly, everyone was put on edge, "Planned? What do you mean?" asked Amber.

"It iss... a guess, but theyy are able to control the energyy within Dusts somehow." Drei revealed, "Now that their powerr are augmented, the Dust oress below are like bombs."

Weiss' eyes widened, "They... can use Dust the way _we_ can...?" she whispered, completely horrified as a look of sheer terror was on her face, "Oh no... If they can do that, then that means the way they're going to destroy Vale is by-!"

"-dig tunnels leading to the city, put the collected Dust ores there and then ignite them." Pyrrha said, equally horrified. "Even if they weren't as big as yesterday, then the explosions would be enough to make holes through which they can..."

Amber shook her head with a growl as she pulled out her Scroll and called a number, "...C'mon, pick up!" she muttered before a second later, the sound of her call being connected echoed in her right ear, "Ozpin, we know how the Grimm's going to strike Vale." She immediately spoke, not even bothering with a greeting.

" _...Give me the details."_ His voice immediately ordered.

* * *

 _Meanwhile, deep down..._

"Dust ores..." Ren said as they passed by the remnants of Dust ores that he had helped destroy with his Mantle. He was in the middle of the group with his spheres gone, replaced with a bubble that enveloped them all in an 8-meter radius, forcing them all to stay close. "There's a lot of them here."

"Considering that Mountain Glenn was planned to be a mining town, it shouldn't be a surprise." Glynda said, "Still, if what Jaune just told us is true, then we have to keep an eye out on them as well."

They've been going down a slope through the artificial tunnel that Ren helped make with his Mantle, led by Glynda. The magenta bubble's surface had asome sort of deteriorating property on its edge, similar to that of corrosive acid, but one that was more precise and controllable.

"Do you feel any movement nearby?" Jaune asked Glynda.

"No... But now that we're deep enough, I feel something on the edge of my Mantle's influence." She answered, "It's as if there's a congregation of... hundreds of beings there, beings of different sizes and shapes." She then added, "We're going right where they are."

With that statement, everyone save for Jaune and Glynda tensed up.

"...A word of advice." Glynda said after a moment of silence, "Even if the enemy isn't as big as the ones that Jaune fought, don't underestimate them. Their smaller size might belie their more dangerous nature." She advised them, "Keep your guard up ."

The students all responded with a silent nod. "Remember the things we've taught you, both in Professor Glynda's class and during Mantle training." Jaune added, "What is rule number 1?" he asked.

"To never overestimate yourself." June began, "It's a dangerous mindset to have. Confidence is one thing, but arrogance is another."

"Correct." Jaune said with a nod, "So don't get cocky, fight together as a unit, and remember to 'watch each other's back' as priority number one instead of 'destroying the enemy'" he then added, "Do you know why?"

"Because we're not as strong as you are." Ruby immediately answered with a smile.

Jaune smiled and nodded, lacking an expression of arrogance such a statement would normally incite from anybody else.

After a long moment of silence later, Glynda stopped them with a raise of her hand, "...We're right on the edge." She said with a whisper, "...It doesn't feel like they've noticed us yet, so let's not alert them."

Everyone nodded before the last barrier between them and the Grimm were broken, showing them that they've arrived in a rather large area illuminated by the glowing Dust ores on the chamber's incredibly tall ceiling. Covered by the shade that surrounded their particular corner, their presence was unnoticed by the others in the chamber.

The students froze, Glynda flinched while Jaune's eyes narrowed as his fists were tightly clenched as they saw the sight that greeted them.

Like Glynda said, there were hundreds of them, the monstrous creatures of black, white and red, all with the physical attributes of different animals, mammals, reptiles, insects and even some creatures of the sea.

There were Grimm who were so big that they could topple tall buildings, gigantic monstrosities that could shake the earth if they simply _walk_. Then there were other Grimm that were smaller but nevertheless beast-like with their humanoid appearance.

And then there was the figure that floated above them as it beat its draconic wings. It was the one that, from where they were, appeared most human-like out of all the visible ones with its bipedal stance, anatomical proportion and how its mask was blank, as if it was wearing some sort of a twisted theatrical mask.

If it weren't for its horns, eyes and wings, its silhouette would've passed for a human.

Its head turned to look at where they were, its pupilless red eyes glared at them, and belatedly, they realized that Ren's magenta-colored bubble was still surrounding them, and it prompted the boy to turn it off.

"A bit too late for that." Jaune said as he and the human-like Grimm glared at each other. "We're in their den now, get yourselves ready."

In response to that, everyone's Mantle manifested, and much to their surprise, it caused the group of Grimm to stagger and reel back, seemingly horrified by what they were seeing in front of them.

"Are... are they scared?" Ruby wondered with wide eyes.

"...They look shocked more than anything." Blake said as she looked at them, "Is it because of our Mantle?" she asked.

"Why would they be shocked?" Ren asked, a bit bewildered but still keeping himself calm. "Do they _know_ what Mantle is?"

"...Maybe they thought Jaune's the only one who has it." June said as he looked at her brother, "Considering your reputation, it's likely that they thought you're the only Mantle-user."

" **Mantle..."**

The warped voice came from the humanoid dragon Grimm, catching all of them by surprise. **"Is that what you call it as? This... true manifestation of the soul?"** it laughed; **"It's nothing if not appropriate, I suppose..."**

Something about the way it spoke told them that it was not using its own words to speak, as if it were but a mouthpiece for something else. "Who are you?" Jaune immediately asked, remembering what Penny told him before.

" **...** _ **Who**_ **, not** _ **what**_ **, hm?"** It asked again, **"To ask so clearly without even a doubtful look on your expression..."**

Everyone felt the oppressive aura in the air, looming over them. Something about the draconic Grimm's voice set them on edge, as if they were a mouse cornered by a snake. However, unlike a mouse, they were not a helpless prey.

"June." Jaune said to his sister, "Focus on watching Ren's back as he gives you support. Blake, be Ruby's shadow as she goes around the battlefield, and Glynda..." he turned to look at her, and she simply nodded with a small smile, prompting him to reciprocate.

Jaune looked at the draconic humanoid Grimm that began to vibrate as if its every cells were on the verge of being split into two at the same time for one second before he became like a bullet shot from a massive gun, hitting the draconic humanoid Grimm fist-first with enough force to make the air and the ground tremble by sheer secondhand after-effect.

The force exploded outward like a fast-expanding explosive bubble, and when it was about to reach Glynda, June, Ren, Ruby and Blake, it stopped, as if blocked by an invisible dome of protective shield that prevented the destructive force from touching them.

"Hold on everyone!" Glynda ordered as a wave of destruction washed over them...

* * *

 _Ground-side, seconds before..._

"Right. Okay, yes, please do so Ozpin! And quickly!" Amber said before she disconnected the call, "Okay, so good news: The citizens of Vale are being ordered to go to the nearby shelter. Bad news: They're not mobilizing fast enough to get to the shelters in such a short time."

"Damn it, then what should we do? Should we go back to the city?" Yang asked.

"No!" Weiss yelled, "Don't be hasty, we must stay here until something more pressing calls for our attention and _then_ we mobilize."

As if on cue, a massive earthquake shook them. Drei was the first to speak, "Jaune." Was all he said, and a look of understanding was on the others' faces.

"Yeah, I'd assume it's-"

Amber was stopped when the sound of something similar to a massive landslide, on the level of a collapsing mountain, echoed in the distance. The young students, having never been near a large-scale natural disaster when it occurred, froze up a bit at the sound.

"...That's not an earthquake." Amber muttered, "It sounds like..." she frowned as she looked at where the sound originated, "Like... something _broke_ through the ground."

"...Jaune?" Nora asked.

"Jaune." Pyrrha nodded.

"...Let's see if we can give him some assistance." Amber said to the others, "If he's there, then the others are with him as well, and in an open area, we'll be able to unleash our maximum potential."

"Right!" Yang said as she subconsciously activated her Mantle, followed by everyone else's save for Drei, "Let's go then!"

* * *

 _Meanwhile..._

"I-is it over?" Ruby asked as the noise finally died down.

"It is." Said June as she deactivated the force field dome that she had put around Ruby, Blake and Ren.

"Good thinking, adding another layer of protection." Glynda said while her mind still protecting the students behind her with her invisible shield, "It seems you remembered what I said about the importance of redundancy."

June simply shrugged with a smirk, "'There's nothing wrong with being overly-prepared or cautious.'" She recited before she then said; "So... how many are left after that?"

"Those that are near us? Ten." Glynda answered, "They have humanoid shapes, just like that draconic one. If their shape is a telltale to their strength..."

She trailed off as the ten Grimm stood in front of them, each and all of them appeared like humans with animalistic traits, as if they were faunus but much more demonic and beast-like in appearance.

Their height ranged from 7 feet/2.1 meter to 12 feet/3.6 meter tall, all of them were covered in bone-like armor and stood on two legs, be it human-like or legs that were animalistic in shape, and they were all staring at the teacher and her students.

The humanoid Grimm with wolf ears on top of its human-like head struck first as it lunged at Ren with its sharp claws. A centimeter above his skin, June's blue force-field manifested, blocking the Grimm's attack. Ren followed through by making a fist with his right hand, allowing one of the spheres to float above his clenched fingers, before he then punched at the Grimm, shooting the sphere _into_ its body.

The human-Grimm wolf's skin and armor suddenly changed its color into a dark shade of magenta, at which point, June unsheathed Crocea Mors in one swift horizontal swipe to the right that released a sharp, crescent-shaped force field that nearly beheaded the wolf by a couple of centimeters.

June then followed it through by sending another crescent force-field projectile that then completely beheaded it, at which point, the sphere Ren shot came out of its body.

"It took two strikes, even when Ren used his Sphere..." June said with a look of shock on her face as one of the human-like Grimm wolf fell and died.

As if spurred by its death, the other human-like Grimm began to roar and/or bellow as they charged to them at the same time.

"Stand behind me!" June ordered Ren.

Blake's hair suddenly extended, touching her shadow and then she leaped down _into_ it. The shadow then overlapped itself with Ruby's, and Ruby nodded as she then unfold Crescent Rose into its scythe form; "Well! Here we go!"

She became a blur of black and red as she went for one of the human-like Grimm with thinner bones and the shape similar to that of a bat with long, spindly arms that could be expanded as wings.

As Ruby sped up, Crescent Rose's edge was suddenly covered with silver lightning and when she slashed the changed bat Grimm's chest, it went past the bone armor, creating a deep gash. From her shadow, sharp, corporeal tendrils sprouted, went into the gash and rip, tear and squeeze its insides.

Glynda faced not one, not two, but three humanoid Grimm, one looked like an elephant, the other looked like a cat, a tiger, judging by the stripes on the skin beneath its armor, and the last one was one that looked like a bull with its long, horizontal horns, all of them were above nine feet tall and were either heavily muscled, stout or in-between.

Her third eye construct appeared in a burst of purple light, and an invisible force repeatedly 'punched' the three humanoid Grimm, instantly caving their armor inward. The elephant one, the humanoid Goliath was suddenly hit by an invisible giant 'bullet' that pulverized its whole torso.

Though heavily bruised, the tiger, which was a transformed Khan and the bull that was a transformed Touros lunged at Glynda, who simply stood there with a small smile on her face.

A second later, A red scythe coated in sharp-edged black shadow and silver lightning went for the Khan, and a sword coated with light-shaded bluish-magenta force field went for the Touros. Both of them were going for their necks, the weakpoints in their armored body, and the scythe and the sword beheaded the two.

"Nice work, everyone." Glynda said as her four students landed at her left and right sides, "Now... time to finish off the other five."

* * *

 _A couple of minutes before..._

Jaune stood up after landing on his two feet as the draconic human Grimm landed into a backwards roll and ungracefully crashed into a desolate building. With his white cape billowing behind him, Jaune rushed towards it with his right arm wound back.

The draconic human Grimm got back on its feet and barely dodged the punch... and it ended up having its head grabbed on by his left hand and then he pushed it down head-first, planting its masked face onto the ground below and embed it deep into the center of the newly-made crater.

He followed with a stomp directed at its head, only for it to roll out of the way, it then had to face a fist coming towards its face, and its response was to move its head out of the way and then directed a punch at his abdomen.

Jaune's eyes widened as he was sent flying. He narrowed his eyes as he then rolled down mid-air to go down a bit, and then, using his feet, he skid himself into a halt. The sound of beating wings made him look up, and he saw the draconic humanoid Grimm charging at him with its right arm wound back.

He simply responded back with his right fist, the two attacks met, and on the point where the two fists collided, a bubble-like, destructive, windy shockwave is formed and it then expanded at a very fast rate, destroying nearby buildings and roads in the derelict city and damaging buildings that are farther from where they were.

* * *

 _At the same time..._

If what they heard before sounded like a landslide, this time it was similar to a high energy yield bomb that caused a visible ripple in the air, even from afar. Yang, Pyrrha, Nora, Weiss, and even Amber couldn't help but to stare at the sight as they continued to move as fast as they can towards it.

"Is he fighting someone?" Yang wondered.

Drei growled as his red eyes began to glow. "This smell... The Alpha! And it has been transformed?! Haltt!"

The anger in his tone made them stop, and Amber asked, "What's wrong? What do you mean by the Alpha?"

"The Alpha... one of the Progenitors, a Grimm that can give birth to more Grimm, it has been transformed! Made stronger!" he then said; "If Jaune is facing the Alpha, let us find another targett. Leave this to him, he's the only one who has a good chance of ending it!"

* * *

 _With Jaune..._

He skidded backwards for a couple of meters as his enemy fell back into a roll. "Hm..." he hummed as he looked at his right arm, at the partly ruined sleeve of his suit that now showed his right forearm. 'It's... quite strong.' He had to admit that.

Even as the enemy in front of him stood with its right forearm missing, that punch had a lot of force behind it. **"Hm... Even with what I've achieved with this, it is still not enough against you, hm...?"** it asked before it hunched down and began to shake violently, **"Then how about this?!"**

He saw as glowing red veins began to cover its whole skin beneath the white bone armor. It was followed by its muscles bulging, as if they were balloons being filled with air, and then fluctuating its size, expanding and deflating at a disturbingly fast rate. Its right forearm then regenerated fully, as if nothing had happened to it.

As its whole body was still shaking, it then tilted its head up as cracks formed on where its mouth should be. As it tilted its head even further back, it roared out a loud, echoing sound the likes that no known beast could have made, and it traveled _everywhere..._

* * *

 _With Glynda and the others..._

As they were about to attack the other five, they heard it, the roaring noise that sent chills down their spine and earned a reaction from the remaining five human-like Grimm. They hunched over, their body shook and warped in a fit of violent spasm that changed their very form.

"W-wha..."

Their muscles were tearing apart their skin as it expanded, their bones were cracking as they broke apart and then reforming themselves at a very fast rate, and a few seconds later, whatever they were before was almost unrecognizable thanks to their new forms.

Now, with parts of their skin exposed, showing the glowing red veins covering their bodies and how parts of their bone plates were broken as a result of their transformations, they faced the team that found them.

"They've transformed _again_?" Blake said as her body was still partly sunken into her shadow that was connected by her elongated hair. "Could that roar be-?"

As if on cue, the five Grimm they were facing tilted their heads up before roaring. Much to the team's horror, the roar was picked up by others, that is, the other Grimm who were around. All of them roared with their heads tilted up for a couple of seconds before, save for the five facing the team, all of them left.

"It must've been a command..." Glynda muttered, her voice filled with apprehension, "And they must be going to- They're splitting their forces! We have to-"

A punch from a meaty fist large enough to grab an adult human's head as if it was a grape and is packed with a lot of force was at least a milimeter away from hitting Glynda's nose before she could finish her sentence.

It was stopped, but the invisible shield of her telekinesis redirected the force outward, sending everyone around them in different ways.

Ruby with Blake, June with Ren, the four of them were scattered into two different directions. They quickly picked themselves up from the after-effect... and found that the duos were each confronted with two of the grotesque, transformed humanoid Grimm the size of two-story houses.

* * *

 _With Amber, Drei and the others a couple of seconds before..._

"That roar... what... was that?" Nora asked, her voice quiet and slightly shaky. "Was that... the Alpha?" she asked Drei.

"Yess." Drei growled, "And it is calling the others to come out."

Right as he said that, the sound of a collection of roars shook them. Instantly, they knew that it was a reply to the previous roar, an answer to its call. "And that... must've been the 'others' you were talking about." Yang remarked.

"How many...?" Pyrrha wondered out loud, "How many are there? The roars, they're coming from everywhere!"

When it died down, the silence seemed more deafening to them than the collective roaring was. It was as if they were in the middle of a whole crowd of loud people and then suddenly they all went silent at the same time. The lack of _anything_ after what just occurred was surreal.

Before long however, the noises came back, and with a vengeance. They felt the earth rumbling, as if it were an earthquake, and it was strong enough to shake them.

"I-is this-?!"

It continued for about a couple of seconds more, and it was bad enough for them to jump up high and using their respective Mantles to keep themselves up, with Weiss going as far as to create a Glyph platform for Drei. Looking down, they saw that the shaking was pretty visible, showing how strong it was.

Before long, they saw as the white, black and red monstrosities that was the changed Grimm coming out of the ground, accompanied with the repeated sound of the ground breaking apart as they burst out of the earth.

One by one they all came out from underneath the earth, numbered in the hundreds like a swarm of ants coming out to attack. They appeared in various shapes and sizes, united under a shared, common goal, a goal that the team saw when they began to make their move north.

They knew where that way would lead. They knew what the Grimm were aiming for. So they immediately went towards it, knowing that they had to intercept them.

* * *

 _With Jaune..._

The sound of the other Grimm replying to its roar distracted Jaune's attention as he turned his eyes to his right, away from the Grimm that had become even more demonic with glowing red veins all over it and its smaller, yet more taut body that had forego most of its bone plates and exposed its skin that was darker than a shadow in the peak afternoon.

It responded by charging at him with its right fist wound back, directed at his head... Which he caught with his left hand. He squeezed it tight as he threw it onto the ground, creating a crater with a bang. He followed it with a strike at its head...

The earth shook as their surroundings sunk, creating a two-kilometer wide crater starting from the point of impact.

Before the dust could even settle, Jaune was kicked in the stomach and is launched into the air, creating a whistling noise of wind resistance as he went. The Alpha followed with a jump that made it reach him in about a second to follow-up with another kick... But Jaune was ready.

Its axe kick, aimed at his stomach, was stopped when Jaune kneed the back of its right knee. He then grabbed its neck, using it as an axis to rotate himself to face it. He then wound back his left knee for a strike at its stomach.

It was fast to respond, the knee-strike was caught by its left hand... But it didn't manage to fully stop it. The attack sent it flying far, prompting it to open its wings to be able to stop its momentum... But it was a distraction, a pause in the flow of battle, and as a result, Jaune was suddenly there, in front of it, and it could not stop the punch he aimed at its masked face. It sunk in, cracking the mask and bending the shape of its skull inward before Jaune completed the movement and sent it flying fast with a massive bang.

Mid-air, he moved his legs as if he were jumping forward from a platform, the movement was fast enough to actually 'touch' the air and sending him dashing across the sky towards the draconic humanoid Grimm.

It heard the multiple sound of explosion his movement caused and recovered and beat its wings as an attempt to fly away from him as fast as it possibly could...

Only for him to catch up and grabbed one of its wings. With his right hand raised, he was about to chop one of it off, but the Alpha immediately twirled violently, attempting to get him off of it, only for it to backfire as instead of chopping it, he used it to pull it closer to him for another punch.

With no way out of the situation, it responded fist with fist...

And the sky trembled at the contact.

* * *

 _With Glynda..._

The humanoid Grimm with the pair of winged arms lunged at Glynda with its fist, faster than anything she had ever faced before. She dodged it by twirling to the side and then she glared at its head, focusing her Mantle onto its insides, only for it to move away at the last second.

She thrust herself towards it and sent a wave of kinetic force, powerful enough to make its bone-plates crack and its flesh ripple violently along with creating a wide, cone-shaped indentation around it that also destroyed the wall formation behind it as it stood tall.

Halted by her attack, it gave Glynda time to advance, and she did. She thrust herself forward towards it, and she then extended her index finger, and using its tip as a focus point, she aimed said finger at its head and whispered; 'Bullet'

Suddenly, there was a hole on its head, a clean-cut hole that went through the front of its head to its back, a wound that would be a certain-kill... If the enemy was a normal Grimm or living being.

It roared as it charged at her, faster than before, and Glynda vaulted over it, the only possible way to avoid its attack... But one of its winged arm caught her by her leg.

It used Glynda like a flail as it slammed her into the ground with a swing. It did so for seven to fifteen times in very quick succession before finally, Glynda retaliated. Using her grabbed feet as a focus point, she kicked, which _slashed_ the beast's hand and freed her.

She landed into a crouch, away from the beast for a couple of meters before she stood up, patted off the dust on her now dirty clothes before she scowled, not because of the beast itself... but because of what she's seeing.

Her glasses' lens were cracked and the frame was bent. She swiftly took off her glasses with her hand, threw it away to crash and break apart when it hit the ground and then she undid her bun, letting her blonde hair fall free to her shoulder blades.

She flew up, tilted her head up a bit and looked down on the beast with a cold glare that would send chills down a warrior's spine.

The beast roared as it was about to jump... Only for it to buckle down under an invisible pressure that created a crater around it. It struggled to get up, but the pressure was getting stronger and stronger by the second.

Coincidentally, Glynda was approaching the beast in concordance to the increase in pressure. Its bone plating began to crack as the flesh on its back began to get flatten under the pressure, and as Glynda got closer and closer, the harder it was for the beast to struggle, and the deeper the crater became.

At six feet away, the beast was still shaking, at three feet, the beast's back imploded, but it was still alive, and at one feet, it was almost lying completely flat deep inside the crater.

Glynda looked down on the rather deep crater with cold-looking eyes before she leaped down... And what came afterwards was the sound of flesh squelching as the beast's contents spilled out like a geyser from the deep hole.

A couple of seconds passed before Glynda came out of the hole, drenched in the ichor that was once the beast. She then lifted up her right arm then swished it downward, removing all the dirty, grimy substance at once and sighed.

"...I have to buy a new pair of glasses..." she said before she closed her eyes and thought, 'Tell me your status. All of you.'

* * *

 _With Ruby and Blake..._

While carrying Blake behind her as her literal shadow, Ruby ran through the abandoned subway tunnels as two enraged, gigantic human-looking Grimm, one with the traits like that of a mantis with its sychte-like arms chased them along with the other Grimm that had physical traits similar to a shark with the gills on its neck and mouth that extended to where its ears were.

"It's still weird! How can an aquatic Grimm be on dry land?!" Ruby yelled. "Is it because of their transformation?!"

"This is not the time to wonder about that! Just run!" Blake's voice came out of Ruby's shadow.

" _I'm assuming that you are still engaged in combat?"_

* * *

 _With June and Ren..._

"We sure are!" June yelled out with a grin as her force field-coated blade hit the fist of an enraged, human-like Grimm with the animal traits of a gorilla with how big its forearms are and its jutting chin.

Ren was pressed against her back as an enraged human-like Grimm with the physical traits of a horse from the neck up and waist down charged at him. As it advanced towards him, he then said; "Rotate!"

"Hm!"

June and Ren moved in a counter-clockwise flow as they switched position. Ren shot one of his spheres to the massive gorilla-like Grimm's left foot, changing its color to a dark shade of magenta. He then unsheathed his weapon, the pair of green automatic handguns with collapsible blades he named StormFlower, and unloaded their full clip onto its darkened leg, which immediately deteriorated it down to its bone.

June pulled out Crocea Mors, unfolded it into its shield form, coated it with her force-field and used it to block the bulky horse human-like Grimm's fist. The shield took the hit, turning from blue to red before June pushed the shield, and then the red force-field came out of the shield like a wave, and as it washed over the Grimm, the destructive force of the force-field was such that it effectively ripped several layers of its bone-plates and flesh.

"Rotate!" June yelled.

"Ou!"

Counter-clockwise position switch as Ren reloaded, and they faced their previous charged at them...

* * *

 _With Ruby and Blake..._

Ruby came to a stop in the middle of a barely-lit tunnel, near a dead end caused by a cave-in. "Alright, we're here... Blake?"

Her shadow expanded and merged with the other shadows surrounding her, and the illumination within the room became less and less as the shadow began to envelop the section of the tunnel.

The enraged mantis and shark human-like Grimm finally caught up to her and they began to charge at her with a roar. When they entered the edge of the large shadow, the shadow sprouted corporeal tendrils that quickly enclosed them all in as they weaved themselves together and latched onto the nearby walls. As the wall made out of the shadow tendrils began to fully close and allowing the darkness to fully cover its interior, Ruby could be seen smiling as she whispered...

"Combination Technique..."

Then, an echoing whisper came out of the shadows...

"Death Shadow Cage."

* * *

 _June and Ren..._

Ren shot one of his Spheres into the horse Grimm's head, turning its color into a dark magenta and then he unloaded StormFlower on its head, destroying three-quarters of it in the process.

June charged at the downed gorilla Grimm, planted her blade into its head and released her force-field like a bullet through the sword, destroying the upper part of its head, leaving only its jaw.

The somewhat headless Grimm continued the assault however, with the horse and gorilla blindly punching and swiping and Ren yelled, "How can they still move?! They barely have their heads intact!"

" _Just keep fighting! Destroy them to all their extremities, arms, legs, everything!"_

* * *

 _Ruby and Blake..._

"Gotcha, Professor!" Ruby yelled as she continuously moved in the enclosed dark space as a red flash coated with flickering silver lightning, slashing her Crescent Rose at the two large Grimm, while the shadow, controlled by Blake, helped invading their bodies with the tendrils.

"Keep going, Ruby!" Blake's voice echoed, "I'm almost within every inch of their bodies, it won't be long now!"

* * *

 _June and Ren..._

"June!" Ren yelled to his teammate behind him, "Can you bubble them all together?"

"Sure thing!" June said before she asked, "You want to test that combination we theorized together?"

Ren shrugged and answered, "Might as well finish this in one go."

With that, the two went and stood back-to-back before letting the two nearly headless giant Grimm came close to them... At which point, June summoned her force-field in the shape of a bubble that surrounded them which also caught their hands right before they could touch either June or Ren.

The two slipped out of the bubble before June then expanded it to be big enough to envelop the two Grimm within it. She then made it a bit smaller to push them tightly into the center before she said; "All yours, Ren."

He nodded, and he summoned all of his Spheres and combining several of them into a giant one, which he then shot into the force-field bubble. The spheres that surrounded him, now numbered only at four, floated around the bubble, which was now turning into a dark magenta color.

Ren sheathed StormFlower and extended his empty hands towards the bubble and the spheres. The latter then began to revolve around the giant bubble at high speed while the big Sphere within the bubble began to darken...

"Combination Attack..." Ren whispered.

June grinned as she finished it for him; "Purple Death Rave!"

And then the four Spheres shot beams of dark magenta ray that hit the bigger Sphere within the bubble and like a disco ball scattering light rays everywhere, the beams swept through the two giant Grimm and begin disintegrating them inside out.

After a while, the Spheres stopped moving, the bubble began to return to its usual blue color, and when everything was cleared up, the only thing that remained in the bubble was Ren's bigger Sphere, which he pulled back to him along with the others and turning them back to its previous sizes and numbers.

"Right. We're finished here." June informed.

* * *

 _Ruby and Blake..._

The wall of shadow tendrils untangled itself and the shadows returned back to Ruby's, who appeared rather tired with her profusely sweating and all, but standing proudly in front of horribly mangled, mutilated carcass of the two Grimm.

"We're finished here too." Ruby said as Blake's upper half came out of Ruby's shadow.

"We did it, Professor."

* * *

 _With Glynda..._

The woman smiled when she got the message. They did it. "Good work." Her face then went serious as she added, "But it's not over yet... Ruby, take Blake and go as fast as you can to find the nearest exit to the surface. June and Ren, barge your way up if you must, you have to go up and help our other comrades that are fighting the remaining Grimm heading towards Vale."

" _Got it."_ She heard June say.

" _What about you, Professor?"_ Ruby asked.

"I'll stay underground and look for any Grimm in the tunnels leading to the city." She informed them, "They might be moving to Vale from above and below ground, I _won't_ take any chances with them."

* * *

 _Minutes ago, with Amber and the others..._

"Everyone!" Amber called the others as they were up in the air and almost went past the fast-moving Grimm. "I'm going to do something drastic. Slow yourselves down and wait until I've finished doing this stupid thing, okay?! It might just work..."

As she sped up, the others slowed down a bit, letting Amber go to do what she felt she need to do. "What does she think she can do to halt this... this horde?" Weiss wondered as she looked down at the hundreds of terrifying half-human, half-beast Grimm advancing towards the city walls far away.

"Let's wait and hope it's enough." Pyrrha said, cautious but hopeful. "Otherwise, there will be a lot of casualties..."

Amber went and landed herself at least fifty meters in front of the advancing horde of Grimm. She glared at them before she took a deep breath, raised her hands up with her palms down, as if she were a puppet master controlling a marionette, and then she brought her palms down to the ground with a grunt.

"Rrrrah!"

When her palms hit the ground, it cracked the earth open slightly in a horizontal line that went for at least five kilometers from one edge to the other. She puffed out a breath as she began to sweat, but she followed it with standing up straight, raising her hands and palms up before she turned her palms upward and raised her hands up in one swift motion.

From the crack, a wall of compacted stones and dirt burst up, creating a massive wall that was taller than even the walls of the city behind her. It kept increasing its height under her will until it stopped at its peak of at least a hundred and fifty meters tall.

Amber then flew up, stood on the top of the wall and saw as the Grimm continued to advance, undeterred by the sight, but she had done what she needed to do. She nodded to herself as she extended her hands forward with her palms open.

Amidst the advancing Grimm horde, the ground shook, not because of their stomping, but because of Amber, and what she was attempting to do.

Suddenly, sharp-ended stone spikes sprouted everywhere, some hit the Grimm and crippled them, but most of the spikes only grazed them. It was enough however, to slow some of them down.

As the Grimm that weren't hurt continued to advance, a flash of lightning signaled the arrival of one Nora Valkyrie, who landed into a crouch as electricity flickered all over her body. She stood up straight as she raised her hands up and declared, "You're not! Allowed! To PASS!"

When she brought her hands downward in one swift motion, the sky responded, multiple lightning crashed down repeatedly upon the many Grimm in front of her. The surroundings were illuminated with the flashes of pinkish blue hues of the torrent of lightning that fried if not charred many of the Grimm.

After the sudden, controlled lightning storm subsided for a little while, the persistent Grimm remained as they continued their attack, and Nora simply grinned as she brought out Magnhild, coated it with lightning and jumped into the fray.

Amber simply smiled as she, from her position up top, aided Nora by sending balls of fire to Grimm heading her way while also keeping an eye on the edges of the wall she had erected.

From the back of the horde, Pyrrha landed into a forward roll as she unsheathed her weapon, the shield and javelin/short-sword/rifle combo, Akouo and Milo, respectively. With her halo-shaped Mantle manifested and Milo in its xiphos/double-edged short-sword form, she charged as an invisible protective field covered her body, weapon and shield.

Her feet carried her faster than ever before as she moved, becoming a blur and slicing her Milo at every Grimm she went past, the sharp sword coated in the protective field sliced through the bone armor and muscle tissue like a heated knife cutting through butter.

In a blur of red and gold, she performed an onslaught with ease that made her seem like more of a force of nature than a warrior. Though she wasn't as fast as Ruby or Jaune was, she made up for it by the utter effectiveness of every single one of her attacks that either incapacitated the Grimm for a coup de grace from either Amber or Nora, or out right killed them instantly.

Despite the opposition from them however, there were some Grimm that went and go past the wall's edges. These Grimm, all of them bigger than humans in height and width, were met by two ladies in front of them, one clad in golden yellow and the other in ice cold cyan. Behind them was a gigantic black wolf with red eyes that were looking at them with his eyes narrowed. Yang hit her fists together with a wide grin on her face Weiss smiled almost surreptitiously as their Mantles were shining brightly while Drei simply grinned, showing his big, sharp fangs.

Undeterred, the Grimm didn't stop and continued their advance towards them. Faced with such an opposition, faced with a horde of gigantic Grimm with glowing red veins numbered in the hundreds, ready to attack them, what did the three of them do?

"LET'S GOOO!" Yang yelled as she charged ahead.

From Yang's shoulder blades, a pair of jet-like fire burst out. Her hands were then covered, coated by golden fireballs. "Let's start this with a Big...!" she leaped up with her right fist wound back, aimed down at the group of Grimm a couple of meters in front of her before she then yelled; "YANG!"

When she punched, a large golden fireball flew out from her fist like a massive shell shot from a tank. When it hit one of the Grimm, it exploded, creating an expanding sphere of golden fire that also exerted kinetic force and heat that affected the surroundings outside of the sphere itself.

Following her lead was the gigantic wolf Drei. He charged into the army of his former kin with his fangs and claws bared, eager for the slaughter. His first victim was a former Beowolf that retained most of its previous shape, but with gross musculature. He stopped it on its tracks by biting one of its legs, pulled it down and then chomped on its head.

Noticing that one of their own kin was fighting them, a number of Grimm went and changed their course to face him. In response, the wolf simply grinned as the first wave of Grimm heading his way went closer, eager to meet them in combat.

Some that escaped Yang and Drei's attack continued to advance... Only to be met with Weiss. At first, they were set to just ignore her, to just run past her to quickly reach the city... But when they were just a few meters away from her, numerous Glyphs -all 2 meters wide in diameter- appeared around her, on the air, on the ground, on the spots near the Grimm.

From the center of the numerous Glyphs came identical-looking armored knights armed with gigantic blades that were as long as they were tall. They all leaped into action using the Glyphs they were summoned from as if they were trampolines and began to attack every single one of the Grimm that evaded Yang's initial attack.

From behind them, Weiss kept her eyes and ears peeled for any other Grimm that might've escaped... Such as the half-snake half-human beast that must've been a King Taijitu once. The beast's dual human bodies charged at her with their mouth open, showing their long, sharp teeth as they hissed at her.

Weiss unsheathed her rapier, Myrtenaster, twirled it with finesse before she stabbed its pointy end at the ground, from which she summoned a three-meter wide circular Glyph which she stood on the center of.

The Grimm with the two human-like bodies connected to a gigantic snake body continued to charge at her, seeing her as a threat that needed to be ended, even as it was alone. It chose to lunge at her from the left and right using its two human bodies.

As it touched the edge of her Glyph, it suddenly fell flat on their heads to the ground, as if they were forced to by an invisible force.

"Gravity Augmentation: Success." Weiss whispered before she then stabbed the transformed King Taijitu's heads in two quick thrusts. From the holes that she made on their heads, two Glyphs appeared, and Weiss said; "Shatter."

The Glyphs suddenly sprouted webs from both edges that enveloped the transformed King Taijitu whole in a second. When it did, the Grimm's whole body shined bright with a blinding cyan color before it followed what Weiss said, shattering like a piece of glass that was punched hard enough to instantly turn it into dust.

Weiss huffed once before she looked at the advancing Grimm with an austere expression. She brandished her Myrtenaster with a dramatic swish as she whispered, "...Alright, Weiss... A city is counting on you and your friends to stop this madness... Let's not screw this up."

* * *

 _From a bit far away, in the tunnel beneath Mountain Glenn..._

As she suspected, there were still a small group of the transformed Grimm within the tunnel, and they were all going north, towards where Vale . She flew through the tunnels, carried by the power of her mind and fashioning the invisible force she's controlling as if it were a giant drill that pulverized everything in her path and creating a bigger tunnel as a result, with her located right within said drill.

'I'm getting close...' Glynda thought to herself, 'I'm getting near the end of the tunnel... What are they doing...?'

She felt a large collection of something on the end of the road, on the long, horizontal tunnel that she knew to be located right below the walls of Vale. 'It felt like... could they have collected... And could they be using them to...?' she scowled as she increased her speed, making the earth quake.

A couple of seconds later, she barged into the chamber with a bang, and in front of her, she saw a large collection of raw Dust ores, all piled up like a small mountain. The Grimm were nowhere in sight, but it was clear that the ores were collected to be primed up for one big explosion. 'I need to get it all out.'

She closed her eyes, focused on what she can 'feel' instead of what she can see, and slowly, every single Dust ores that numbered in the thousands and were collected in a very long line began to levitate without exception.

As her focus expanded, she felt the battles that were going on up above, how the group that were told to stay outside were now dealing with a literal army of Grimm that were bigger, stronger and much hardier than the normal ones... And they were doing a good job at it.

'With the rest coming their way, they shouldn't have no problem defeating them faster...' Glynda thought before she frowned, 'But where's Jaune...?' she wondered before she expanded her 'field' further...

"...They're...!"

For a moment, she lost her focus, but she reined herself back as she continued her work, but much faster. 'Hm... It seems that we're really forgetting the fact that Mantle is supposed to be a secret...' she shook her head at that before she thought, 'Well... considering what's going on right now, I suppose it's alright...'

* * *

 _Up above, in the Walls of Vale..._

"...Jeff, what the hell are we looking at here...?" wondered a rather portly security guard stationed on the southern gate of the city as he and his colleagues were looking south, at a visible, ongoing phenomenon in the faraway sky.

"Are you sure we didn't have any drink last night, Bern?" asked Jeff, who had a perpetually tired-looking face, "Cause I'm pretty sure that's not normal. Like, I can also hear it too."

"...Anyone want to get the booze?" asked the third man with a really messy black beard that completely covered his cheek, jawline and upper lip.

Bern looked around, especially at how the three of them were left alone to guard this particular post thanks to the city-wide PSA advising the citizens to move to the nearby shelters, and said; "Might as well, Gus..."

So perplexed they were by everything that was going on that they didn't notice a rather small, partly invisible figure with an outline of a very petite girl looking at the chaos.

'Hm... Might as well be the last line of defense if things went too far south...' Neo thought to herself as she smiled, rolled her shoulders and stretched her neck. 'Still, I think I won't have to work at all if they do their job well, but... no harm in being prepared.'

* * *

 _Above the ruins of a city that was once Mountain Glenn..._

" **RRRRRRROOOOAAAAAAAAAAHH!"**

The humanoid draconic beast of a Grimm roared from its glowing, teethy opened maw as its fists shot out like barrage of bullets from a machine gun, breaking the sound barrier with every single punch directed at Jaune... all of which he caught with his hands.

With every single strike that connected, it was as if a large bomb is detonated, sending destructive ripples to their already broken surroundings.

The ruin of the city below them where they started the fight was once like a concrete jungle with its tall ruined buildings that spoke of the promise it once held. Now, it was an almost flat terrain if not for the rubble where the buildings once stood and the large craters that now dotted the landscape.

The two fighters with their monstrous strength flew about in the air, the Grimm with its wings and Jaune with his feet, kicking the air to move, as if he were jumping off of invisible platforms. From an outsider's perspective, they were like blurs as they continued to move around the air, and when their attacks connected, the explosion was loud as it even reached the city.

The state of the two fighters showed how hard they've been fighting, with Jaune now literally shirtless and the draconic-human Grimm's red veins now spread all over its body and looking less like veins and more like the roots of a parasitic plant that had taken complete control of a living human being.

In addition to their physical state of being, their movements also indicated the one who were being pushed. The winged draconic-human Grimm chose to be retaliatory, attacking only when Jaune did, he was the one who was being initiative, always the first one to approach and attack the other.

It was losing, it was constantly being pushed, yet despite that, it always responded his attack with another attack, unwilling to buckle under pressure. Its fist met his again, creating an explosion that shook the sky and earth, and from the center of it, the dragon-human Grimm was sent flying by the force that won against its fist. Its right arm was mangled after that last attack, with its limbs twisted, bent so badly that they weren't positioned right.

It grunted, and as if on cue, the mangled arm corrected its form with a squelching sound of flesh being regenerated and bones being mended... But then, before it could fully recuperate, its healed arm was grabbed by the forearm by Jaune's left hand before he followed it by punching down on its stomach while yanking its arm off.

It landed with a bang like a meteorite, creating yet another crater. Jaune tilted his body downward before he kicked up, sending him flying down towards the center of the crater and then he tilted his body back up to fly down feet-first.

He landed the kick, quaking the earth and sending a pillar of dust and rubble up, but the Grimm had rolled away, lacking an arm and all. It grunted again as it tried to regenerate its arm... Only to stop when Jaune was once again in front of it with his hand already on the way to hit its head.

It knew that its effort wasn't enough. It had augmented its state, increasing its physical power to try and match him, but he met its every attempt with ease.

Instead of rolling away, it ducked as it hugged him with one arm, pushed him down and it then began to vibrate violently as its red veins glowed even brighter...

* * *

 _With Neo..._

Vale's southern horizon was brightened by a pillar of red light that seemed to be trying to touch the sky. It was bright enough to color the surroundings red despite the sun's presence on the morning sky.

'...Holy shit...'

* * *

 _With Amber and the others..._

"What the...?!" she yelled as the force of the explosion caused a gust of wind to reach them, a gust that was powerful enough to chip her wall, even when it was far removed from the center of the explosion.

"Whoa~!" Nora's balance was disturbed as she was swayed by the sheer force of the gust of wind, "What is that?!"

Pyrrha stopped what she was doing as she looked at the red glow far away, "It's their fight..."

Even Yang, Weiss and Drei stopped what they were doing as the pillar of light caught their attention, "Damn... is that Jaune, or the Alpha?" Yang asked.

"The Alpha..." Drei answered, "It's releasing all of its power to repell him no doubtt."

"...D-do you think...?" Weiss couldn't complete her question, the idea was too scary to even think about.

* * *

 _With June and the others..._

The four of them, having gotten out of the tunnels and were heading towards where the Grimm army was, stopped when they saw the spectacle.

"...Brother..." June muttered, a bit worried at the sight of what was basically an equivalent of a nuclear bomb exploding right where her brother was.

"...We have to go to him." Ruby said as she was about to run.

"Ruby, no." Blake said as she grabbed her team leader's shoulder, "If you go there, if we go there blind, none of us will be of help."

"She's right." Ren agreed, "We need... we need to trust him."

* * *

 _With Glynda..._

She stopped what she was working on when she felt that explosion. The tunnels shook and many of the pathways were now blocked by the debris caused by the cave-ins, and she was almost certain that the city above Mountain Glenn is obliterated thanks to that.

She reached out far, further than she usually used her Mantle to do to find out if Jaune survived that... And when her senses reached Mountain Glenn, she was able to see that it has been obliterated indeed... And only two entities remained in ground zero...

* * *

 _In what used to be a city near Mountain Glenn..._

The pillar of light remained standing for a couple of seconds more before it receded back into the draconic-human Grimm... that had been transformed again.

Now its skin was completely white and its previously glowing red veins had become black in color. Its red eyes had become completely black as well, almost doll-like in appearance. It had also discarded its mask, showing that it lacked a mouth on its face and its wings were now gone, leaving it more like a human than before.

Jaune, still standing after what happened, only got a literal nano-second to take in its new form before he got an uppercut that sent him flying up.

Before he could recuperate, the white Grimm was already up there with him and followed it with another punch that sent him even further up.

He scowled as he recovered quickly... Only for him to be assaulted from all sides by the human-like Grimm, as if it was now capable of multiplying itself into tens of copies of itself with sheer speed as it continued to attack Jaune without stopping.

The assault overwhelmed him, and it went on for one, two, three, four, five, six, seven seconds and continuing still, with hundreds of punches delivered per second.

At the eighth second, one of its punches was blocked by his right palm, and it responded quickly by uppercutting him on the chin with a kick. He didn't let go of his grip, so it was pulled along with him.

Mid-way, it pulled the arm that he grabbed, yanking it off by itself, literally disarming its right arm again and then it followed it up by pulling back its left leg a bit and then delivered a swift and powerful kick on his stomach... That finally sent him away from it _and_ the planet.

It floated for a bit before gravity finally asserted its authority over it and pulled it down, back to the ground...

* * *

 _From afar..._

June, Ruby, Blake and Ren saw and heard the last few seconds from afar, the force behind its every attack on Jaune was powerful enough to make explosive sounds and visible ripples in the air that made the clouds disperse. They saw its last attack on him, one that was powerful enough to send him flying far far away from the planet.

Wordlessly, June activated her Mantle, and using her force field as platforms on her feet, she went away fast. "Ju-!" before Ren could even call to her, Ruby ran away in a flash of red, leaving red rose petals in her wake that disintegrated into silver lightning.

"Ruby..." Blake muttered before she shook her head and turned to Ren, "We need to get the others and let them know. They might not have seen what we saw."

* * *

 _With Amber and the others..._

The Former Maiden frowned as she looked at the spot where the last explosion occurred,'I couldn't see if it was Jaune or his enemy that was sent flying...' she thought worriedly before she looked down at the battlefield. Seeing that most, if not all the Grimm were defeated, she called out, "Everyone! Finish this up quickly, we need to get to Mountain Glenn!"

* * *

 _With The Alpha.._

It landed into a roll before it stood into a hunched form. Its head was cast down for a couple of seconds before it fell to its knees and left hand. It was slouching, as if its weariness had caught up to it and it wanted to rest.

A couple of seconds passed before someone arrived in a flash of red and silver. Ruby Rose saw only the slouching form of the transformed Alpha and felt a sense of cold dread enveloping her whole body.

"...Where is he...? Did you...?" she scowled as she unsheathed her Crescent Rose into its scythe form with a series of loud clicks, "Where is he?" her voice turned cold as she began to approach it.

Before she could reach it, June arrived and landed beside her, stopping Ruby in her tracks. She looked around, trying to ascertain if it was indeed true that the one who was sent flying was Jaune... and when she saw that Jaune wasn't around, she turned to look at the Grimm with a scowl.

She wordlessly unsheathed Crocea Mors, coated it with her force field, used her force field on her right foot to push herself towards it and delivered a downward slash on its head...

Only for it to be caught by its left hand. It bled out black blood, but the slash didn't go through. It looked up to meet her eyes, but it didn't move. June released her grip on her sword, coated her fists with force field before she then punched its head repeatedly.

In one swift motion, it released its grip on June's sword and grabbed her neck, which was partly stopped by her force field. She then used her Mantle to telekinetically catch Crocea Mors and used it to slash at its left forearm. The sword embedded itself deeply, but it wasn't enough.

"OOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAHHHHH!" with a yell, she forced Crocea Mors to continue its trajectory, and she managed to push it further in.

Ruby then swept into the fray in a flash, Crescent Rose at the ready, and then, with her weapon coated in silver lightning that danced on its metallic surface, she slid down its extended arm, embed Crescent Rose's blade _into_ the wound that June had made and shot the trigger, which expelled a blast of silver flash and pushing the scythe's blade through the wound.

At the same time, June pushed Crocea Mors further, and with Ruby's Crescent Rose, the two cut off the Grimm's arm. As it recoiled back, June removed the severed hand from her neck, threw it away and pulled back her sword to her hand with her force field.

"Are you okay?" Ruby asked as she looked at June, who was now nursing her neck.

"...That bastard... it was strong enough to pass by my force field defense." She said with a strained voice, "Damn it, it... actually hurts pretty bad."

Before Ruby could offer any form of consolation, they were drawn by the sound of squelching flesh and cracking bones. They turned to where the white Grimm was, and saw that its arms had been regenerated, and now it was staring at them with its doll-like eyes with an intensity to it that made them gulp.

It then _moved_ towards June, and with its speed, the only one who could see its movements was Ruby, who immediately grabbed on to her friend by her waist and then carried her away.

It stopped for a relative second of its accelerated perspective as Ruby fled, as if shocked to find that she was as fast as itself was. It then turned to where Ruby was going, ready to chase her again...

Only for something to land like a meteorite behind it, shaking the earth, creating a loud, explosive noise and causing a large pillar of smoke made out of dust and dirt to billow upward covering it and whatever that fell within the smokescreen.

Ruby stopped her running when she heard the sound of the explosive crash. She turned to where it happened and she muttered, "...Could it be him...?" she wondered to herself before she smiled, "Jaune...?"

"It has to be him." She heard June's muttering, prompting her to look at her fellow team leader. She saw a smile on the tall blonde's face as she looked at the smokescreen, "Who else could it be?" she asked.

* * *

 _Within the smoke..._

It stared at the sight before it with wide, almost disbelieving eyes. As if it were a human remembering something traumatic, it just stood still as it stared unblinkingly at the form of one Jaune Arc who was crouching in the middle of a small crater, his white cape shining rather brightly against the smoke screen.

The shirtless blonde stood up and glared at the white Grimm with a scowl on his face. Blue met black as the two looked at each other, one with sheer animosity in his gaze and the other with sheer, utter shock on its eyes.

Before long, it narrowed its eyes at him as it put its left feet further back and its right leg bent at the knee. It opened its mouthless jaws, forcing a mouth-like hole to form, which was partly enclosed with strands of flesh from its upper and lower jaw. It roared as it charged at him at a speed that rendered him invisible and delivered numerous attacks with its fists and legs.

Jaune simply stood there, taking it all in despite the fact that he was repeatedly hit by an equivalent of tiny meteorites moving far faster than the speed of sound that made the air explode every time it moved and/or hit its targets...

After a few seconds of continuous barrage, he responded by turning to it while it was about to launch another attack. His eyes met its own as he dashed right into its private space, a few inches to its left, placed his left fist onto its stomach and _pushed_.

The force of the attack sent it flying, and it crashed into the mountain in a split-second, sending it crumbling down.

Within the mountain, the white Grimm bent itself to curl in an attempt to stop itself from flying, only to growl as it belatedly realize that there was a hole on its stomach that went through to its back, effectively paralyzing it...

A split-second later, even if it managed to move itself, it wouldn't have mattered, for Jaune materialized right beside it and delivered an upward knee kick onto its upper back that sent it flying upwards.

The speed in which it was going was more than fast enough to break the sound barrier the second it shot off... And sending it out of the atmosphere. As it realized that it could not take in air, it squirmed and began to try and heal itself while trying to re-align itself to face the planet...

Only for Jaune's fist to suddenly materialize near it again and gave it an uppercut to the chin. Sent even further up by the attack, one would think that what he did was enough...

But if one were to see Jaune now, who was below the white Grimm that he sent flying far with a single hit, one would see him cocking his right fist back. He muttered something to himself, even when he knew that there was no air to channel his sound, as if calling out his next attack.

He then kicked his right leg down, and the friction caused by the sheer speed and power he exerted collided with the invisible particles that constituted reality, and it was enough to push him up, towards the white Grimm with his right fist still cocked back. With a serious face filled with passionate determination, he landed a single punch that landed on the white Grimm's chest.

Though outer space lacked air, it did not mean that there wouldn't be friction. A strong enough force can be carried by the supposed emptiness of outer space, and Jaune's punch was more than enough of a force for its effects to reverberate through the 'empty' space.

It caused the clouds located on a part of the planet that was right below him to disperse outward, creating a large circular-shaped 'hole' in the sky where there were clouds once, giving one a clear view of the landmass and the sea of water below.

* * *

 _Seconds before, on the ground..._

Ruby and June saw the mountain collapsing and shaking the earth as well as how one of the two fighters sent one flying up with a loud bang before that one followed it and disappeared into outer space.

They looked up to see what was going on, and for a second, there was nothing, nothing to be heard, nothing to be seen... Until the sky was suddenly forced open into a hole by the suddenly dispersing clouds.

There was a split-second gap between the moment when both of them saw what happened with wide eyes and the moment the massive wave of wind hit them.

Everyone felt it, whether they were Jaune's team who were near ground zero, or the citizens of Vale, far removed from where it all began, everyone felt and saw what Jaune did. When the wind died down, everyone who felt and saw what happened took a second to regain their bearing before they all looked up at his handiwork in shock, fear... and awe.

"...Gods above..." Blake muttered as she stared at the hole in the sky. Both she and Ren had yet to meet up with the other team, and after what happened, they had to stop and look, "That was... That was Jaune... right? Somehow, I have this feeling..."

"That's him." Ren agreed with a nod without turning his gaze away from the sky, "I felt that too. Like it could only be done by him."

With Amber and the others who had stopped on their way to ground zero, they could only look up to the sky as well. "...Holy _shit_..." Yang summed up all their thoughts in two simple words. "Holy... _fucking_ shit...!"

"...I agree..." Weiss didn't even bother to reprimand Yang for her words.

Even Nora was speechless.

Ruby and June simply smiled as they looked up at the cloudless sky. They felt it was him somehow, they felt that it was Jaune who had caused it, and it calmed them down.

Then, both girls, alongside their other team members who were far from them, saw something falling toward the ground fast, specifically, towards Ruby and June. The two team leaders leaped back a bit, and a second later, he landed down with a bang, his cape billowing as he knelt on one knee with his fist planted on the ground, enhancing his heroic image.

He stood up, showing his bare, muscled torso to June and Ruby, and they found themselves... distracted. June and Ruby blushed as the latter turned her head away from him while not doing the same thing with her eyes and the former just continued to stare.

"June, Ruby... Are you alright?" he asked as he approached them.

"E-eh? W-we're fine, right June?" Ruby asked as she elbowed the taller blonde woman.

"R-right." She shook her head and focused on his face, "We, we managed to defeat the Grimm in the cave, brother."

"Good, Good. I'm glad you're all alright." Jaune said with a smile that made them blush even harder.

The sound of people arriving made them turn, and they saw that everyone, sans Glynda, has arrived. Blake and Ren chose to go to ground zero instead of going to Amber and the others, and the two met mid-way.

The team then ran to the three, and began to gather around Jaune as Yang, Weiss and Blake checked on Ruby, Nora Pyrrha and Ren checked on June before Nora then turned to check on Ren and Drei simply hanged back a bit away from them while Amber checked on Jaune as she said; "So that hole up there..." she pointed to the cloudless sky, "That's you... Right?"

Jaune nodded as he and the others looked up. Yang then asked, "What... did you do to cause that in the first place?"

"I punched that Grimm harder than I usually do."

There was a couple seconds of silence after he gave his answer before it was broken, "...We know you're strong, but..." Pyrrha said as she stared at the cloudless sky, "...I guess we never really see _how_ strong you really are before."

"Yeah, you're amazing~!" Nora said with a vibrant smile.

"Thank you." Jaune said before he asked, "Where's Gly-?" he stopped as he turned his head right and looked up. "...Everyone, stay here." He said as he locked his sight onto something that was falling towards the rubble that was once Mountain Glenn. "I'll be right back."

He dashed away, and in a second, he disappeared from view.

* * *

 _A second later..._

It felt what remained of its body that was still attached to its head hitting the ground. It lied there on what's left of its back, its partly-lidded eyes looking up at the cloudless sky and for all intents and purposes, it appeared as if it was completely dead.

Of course, its strange appearance would make anyone think twice of approaching it... save for one Jaune Arc, who appeared right beside it as he looked down on its broken form.

" **...Hmph."** it spoke, **"Did you come to gloat over your... victory?"**

Jaune didn't answer its question as it kept on glaring at it. However, it chose not to be silent and so it continued to speak, **"Hmm... Hmhmhmhm... Do you really think you've won? Do you?"**

It then began to chuckle, **"Mmmhahahaha... Fool... Do you think that I'm here only for you and that little group of yours? You may have won this battle... but what about the others, hm?"**

He continued to glare at it in silence, even as it roared.

" **DO YOU REALLY THINK I DID NOT MOBILIZE MY ARMY NEAR THE OTHER KINGDOMS?! ARE YOU THAT DELUDED, YOU NARCISSISTIC FOOL?!"** it then laughed as it said; **"Do you think... they have people like you and your band of misfits in their kingdoms? Do you really think..."**

* * *

" _ **that what you've faced here... is it?"**_

" _-there! Right there! Oh Oum, we just lost one of our tanks-"_

" _-people are being evacuated as an army of new Grimm is engaging our army in combat-"_

" _-They're going for the CCT, if the army can't hold their ground-!"_

" _-We are currently being told to go to the shelter. Sir, with all due respect, someone has to show this to the world, we are at war right now and they need to see-"_

" _-aaaaaah! T-they're here! Some of them have breached the wall! Run! Ru-!" "...Jace...? Jace, can you hear me? ...We... seem to have lost contact with our reporter, Jace Straits on the field. ...Please Standby."_

Ozpin could only stare as he sat on his chair while the news feed all over the Four Kingdoms which he was looking at from the multiple screens of his Table-Scroll were reporting the same thing: the capitals of Atlas, Mistral and Vacuo were all being attacked at the same time by a transformed Grimm army. The panic and desperation in their tone suggested only one thing: They were losing.

His fists clenched so tightly that they turned pale. Facing all the chaos that was going on in front of him, Ozpin felt powerless.

* * *

 _With Ruby..._

As they waited for Jaune, their attention was drawn by the ringtone of Ruby's Scroll. She pulled it out, saw who was calling and said; "Dad...?" she answered the call, put it on her ear and asked; "Dad, what's-?"

" _Ruby, where are you and Yang right now?"_

The sudden question stopped Ruby in her tracks, "Where...? I-I'm in Vale, Yang's with me too, why are you asking, dad?"

" _...You haven't seen the news, have you?"_

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked as she frowned, feeling that she was missing something.

" _Just... just tell me that you and Yang are alright."_

"W-we're fine dad... Why are you so worried?"

The others saw as Ruby turned pale and her silver eyes widened as she heard what her father said. "Ruby, what's going on?" Yang asked her sister. "Why did dad call you?"

She pulled her Scroll away a bit for a second, looked at her sister first before turning to look at everyone else with wide eyes. "Dad said... dad said that all the capital cities of the Four Kingdoms are being attacked by the Grimm."

"... _All_ of them?" Amber asked as she looked north, "But didn't we...?"

"Dad," Ruby began as she switched to the Scroll's loudspeaker, "what about Vale?"

" _...Vale's not in the news. Which is... strange. But considering that Atlas, Mistral and Vacuo were being attacked, I was worried that Vale might've been attacked as well. But the only strange thing that happened around here is just... the sky."_

All of them went silent as they realized that, despite their success at repelling the Grimm that were going to attack Vale, they were not there to help defend the other capital cities...

" _Still, are you sure you're all alright? Is there any evacuation going on in the city? Are there any alarms? ...It sounds very quiet there, I would've thought that the city would be quite loud with chattering considering what happened."_

Indeed, the silence from them was palpable and could easily be felt even from the other side of a phone line. Their expression, which were previously one of relief and even elation were replaced by one filled with shock and concern...

* * *

 _With Jaune and the Alpha..._

" **Congratulations... on your** _ **victory.**_ **"** It spat hatefully before it chuckled again, **"Enjoy it, enjoy the fact that you now stand on top of hundreds of thousands of people that you didn't-!"**

It was stopped when Jaune stepped on its throat. His blue eyes seemed to shine on their own as he said; "Call off the attack." He ordered.

" **Hah! You are in no position to make demands! What are you going to do? Kill me? Or what? What are you going to do that can convin-"**

"Call off the attack, or I'll jump back to the moon and destroy it along with what's up there."

The threat made it fall silent. His blue eyes met its black ones as they glared at each other in silence for a couple of seconds before it replied; **"...Hmph. You're bluffing."**

He simply tilted his head a bit to the right while he was still looking down on the white Grimm. He glared at it for a couple of seconds more before he said; "Are you willing to try that?"

" **You won't do it."**

"Yet you're the one who sounds as if you're trying to convince yourself that I won't." Jaune shot back, which prompted it to fall silent again. "You're scared."

It growled as it tried to push itself up, only to fail as the only body parts that it had left were the upper part of its torso, its left arm, its neck and a large part of its head. Jaune responded by stomping on its head, right on its left cheek and keeping its head down on the ground.

"You're terrified."

It squirmed as it tried to break free, which was futile, it no longer had the strength to push him away.

"Call it off... or I'll destroy the moon."

It began to breathe heavily as Jaune kept the pressure on its head. It no longer had the smugness that it exhibited before, and as he kept on maintaining pressure on its head, it was clear that it was failing to keep itself calm.

It then shook as it began to laugh, **"Hmmm... Hmmhahahaha... You've got me... You've got me... I'll acknowledge my loss... for now."**

* * *

 _With Ozpin..._

" _-W-wait... something's happening with them... They're... stopping?"_

" _-T-they're all stopping! W-what is going on?"_

" _-As you can see right here, the Grimm seems to be stopping. We do not know what happened, but it's clear that-"_

" _-I repeat, the Grimm all stopped and- Wait, now they are leaving. I repeat: They. Are. Leaving."_

Ozpin saw it all and felt perplexed. What happened? What caused them to do such a thing? Even though it meant that a lot of people would live to see another day, what they did made no sense, what could've forced them to-

He stopped as a thought came intruding and latched onto his mind. He mulled over the possibility that _he_ was the one who did so and couldn't help but to believe it. Somehow, someway, _he_ managed to do the impossible. Again.

Beacon's Headmaster shook his head as he let out a big sigh. He didn't know whether he should feel glad or... 'I suppose I should... but this... this doesn't mean that it's over.'

* * *

 _With Jaune and the Alpha..._

" **There. I've called it all off... You've won** _ **this**_ **battle... But all you're doing is delaying the inevitable. You** _ **will**_ **fall. For all your strength, for all the people you gather under your cause... It will not help you when your time comes."** It then began to laugh again as it said; **"So foolish... so shortsighted... Laugh all you want, gloat all you want, in the end, I've gotten what I wanted in the first place... And this is just the** _ **beginning**_ **."**

There was a couple seconds of silence after that before it said, **"So prepare yourself. Prepare that band of misfits you call an army. Give it all you've got! Because in the end... You will all BURN!"**

"Okay." Jaune stated with a flat, deadpan tone and an unexpressive face, which swiftly cut off the tension in the air. It remained still in stunned silence for a couple of seconds before he continued with a question: "Are you finished?"

It growled again as it asked with a low voice, **"Are you looking down on me, boy?"** it asked before it yelled, **"ARE YOU LOOKING DOWN ON ME?!"**

"Considering that you're literally physically under me, that's a given." He retorted before he said; "All this monologue does is making me think that you're only trying to build yourself up. That you need someone to listen to you being all dramatic to make yourself feel better. My friends and I have just defeated all the Grimm you have prepared to take out Vale, I don't care what you say, that's gotta sting. And my threat of destroying the moon made you pull back the Grimm you've sent to the capital cities as well, _another_ sting to your ego. So please stop. I'm going to start pitying you if you keep on going."

There was another long moment of silence after Jaune said his piece. Once again, the look of smugness on its face is gone and now it is replaced by another look of stunned silence, which Jaune quickly erased when he said; "See you later."

After a quick stomp to the head that completely obliterated it soon after, the white Grimm is no more...

* * *

 _At the same time..._

Being cut off so abruptly from one of her changed 'children' sent a powerful mental shock, like the inertia felt by a car passenger whose car is stopped abruptly while it was going at its top speed. She nursed the pain in her head with gritted teeth and eyes clenched shut as she sat on her black throne surrounded in darkness.

"All those planning... and yet it's still not enough." She talked to herself as she opened her red eyes with black scleras, "I thought it _would've_ been... As it stands however, I was clearly... _wrong_." She spit out the word.

She then stood up as she said, "No matter... Clearly I misjudged myself. First Phase was a success... but it does not reach the level of power that I seek." She growled as she said; "...If so, then it's time I move on to the Second Phase... He knows about the moon's secret, no doubt he'd relay it to his allies, but..."

She smiled then, a smile that conveyed how assured she was, and then she said; "But even if they know about it, what can they do? Hmph. It wasn't as if they can just destroy the moon without killing everything on the planet in doing so... No matter what they do, they won't be able to do anything. Of course, that is to be expected, how can you even think of destroying the moon without repercussion? Truly, they are-"

" _All this monologue does..."_ his very recent words echoed in her head, _"...is making me think that you're only trying to build yourself up."_

Remembering his words made her shut her mouth into a thin line as she growled. Once again, that man managed to get under her skin. It wasn't enough that he was powerful enough to defeat her 'children' time and again no matter how many she threw at him years ago to the point of forcing her to be more organized and calling them back in droves to improve them, he just _had_ to be strong enough in mind to defeat her verbally.

Oh how she hated him, _hated_ him for how capable he was compared to others who had tried to fight against her in the past, how _better_ he was than even the silver-eyed warriors at undermining her 'children' and her plan, all in the span of just a few years.

Not to mention the fact that he discovered what lies on the moon... She had been too hasty with using one of her transformed children, "...He will die." She opted to be more simplistic and concise in her choice of words this time, "They will _all_ die...Sooner or later, they _all_ will."

* * *

 **To be Continued...**

* * *

 **Ah, Salem... Considering how little we know of her, we literally only saw her** _ **right**_ **at the end of Volume 3, a lot of liberty must be taken in portraying her  
**

 **She's very clearly a villain, but other than being 'Evil' with a capital E, we've yet to discover anything about her, her temperament, her quirks, her motivation, nothing... So like Raven, I'm taking quite a lot of liberty in how I portray her as.**

 **Basically, I peg her as a temperamental villain with a penchant for grandiose planning who likes to monologue, especially when things doesn't go as planned. After what Jaune did over the yeasts, I assume that she'll be very incensed, hence her portrayal in this chapter. Of course, her tendency to do monologues is, in a way, a weakness, as by doing so, she tends to show her real thoughts, especially if she does so after she lost a battle. I view Salem as a villain who is hell-bent on destruction, unwilling to compromise unless she** _ **really**_ **had to, and someone who is... pretty one-dimensional.**

 **But then again, one-dimensional character doesn't necessarily mean 'boring'.**

 **Anyway, now you know how strong Jaune really is.**


	16. First Victory

**Disclaimer:** I don't own RWBY.

* * *

As he was hurtling past the atmosphere and through outer space at high speed without being held back by the friction of the air, Jaune saw his home planet gets further and further away from him. He then positioned his body to face the planet as he kept on going so that he wouldn't lose his way back to it... And then he crashed back-first to something big and solid enough to create a crater raise a large smoke screen.

The sound of the crash that created a rather large crater was muffled and the smoke screen was floating in a rather condense cloud of grey dirt. The pillar-like cloud remained there for a couple of seconds before there was a muffled sound of a thunder-like clap that dispersed the smoke cloud.

In the middle of it all, Jaune's shirtless form stood with his hands still locked together by the palms. He remained motionless in that position for a couple of seconds before he put his hands down and looked up at the planet, at the Remnant of the only world humans live in.

He attempted to take a breather, only to stop when he realized that he couldn't. Jaune simply shook his head, feeling mostly inconvenienced by the fact instead of being crippled by it. He looked up and began to bend his knees down, preparing for a jump... Only to stop when he heard a muffled sound of something slithering nearby.

Turning to where it seemed to originate, he saw that he had landed near the shattered part of the moon... Where there were the floating huge shards that used to be a part of the moon itself, which can be seen from Remnant by naked eye... and a body of utter darkness residing within the massive indentation of the moon, big enough to fill the empty space on the broken celestial sphere.

Its form was a black, formless sludge that seemed to have taken over close to half of the moon's landmass. Its darkness was caused by how it didn't seem to reflect light, but completely absorbing it. Its sheer size and how _alive_ it seemed was something that made Jaune pause as he took it all in and what it all meant.

It felt like hours as he stood there and looked at the bizarre thing while in reality it was barely even a full minute. Before long, he shook his head, focused back on Remnant, which he set as a target, bent his knees down, and jumped with a force that made the satellite quake and created a large crater worthy to be equated to an asteroid strike.

He left behind the broken celestial body to be a problem to deal with for another day...

* * *

 **First (Bittersweet) Victory**

* * *

As Jaune, Amber and the eight-person team stepped off the airship sent by Ozpin to take them back to Beacon, they all felt the sting of a bittersweet victory. From their trip, they saw that Vale was safe and sound, looking no worse for the wear, but from the news that is aired on the TV in the same vehicle, they saw that the same could not be said for the other three capital cities.

"Jaune..." Ruby began as she turned to the man while they were walking to the Academy's entrance, "Is this how you feel when... whenever you're informed that there's a settlement that got destroyed because you weren't there?"

As the students' eyes looked at Jaune, he answered, "Yes." He gave it very bluntly, "It feels as if I've done something wrong, like I've deliberately steered myself away from doing something right... But always remember that despite what happened elsewhere, you also did something good when and where you were at the time." He then gestured to the city behind them and said; "Look at that and tell me that you've done something wrong today with a straight face."

All of them looked at the still intact Vale and couldn't help but to feel a bit of pride and assurance enveloping them. The sight of the city not at all affected by the destruction that afflicted the other capital cities reminded them of what they've done, the good thing they've accomplished.

"As strong as I am, I can't be in two places at once. So consider this: You're weaker than me, so don't be too preoccupied by all this." Jaune advised, "And also remember. If I was all by myself, I would've been too preoccupied with that White Alpha Grimm to handle the invading army of Transformed Grimm in time."

He then turned to all of them with a smile and said; "You all have made a great difference by being here today. And I'm proud of you."

Seeing the soft smile on his usually stoic face caught everyone, save for June and Ruby, by surprise. The girls smiled with a blush on their cheeks, accepting his praise as they felt their hearts skip a beat.

Ren looked at the reaction of his female teammates with a small smile before he shook his head and looked to his right... Where he saw a large amount of debris flying towards them as if they were organized ships, following the lead of the one in the center... which happened to be, "Professor Goodwitch." He said out loud.

The others turned to look at where he was looking, and saw that she was indeed flying towards Beacon... with a large collection of raw Dust ores in tow, presumably taken from the tunnels where they once were before.

"...Man, she's been busy." Yang muttered, impressed at the amount of Dust ores she was carrying, "But why is she carrying all that Dust?"

" _To answer your question, Ms. Xiao Long..."_ Glynda's voice echoed in their heads, _"I believe stocking up all of this Dust will prove to be beneficial for the future."_

'Do you need any help?' Amber asked.

" _No, I'm fine on my own."_ She went silent for a second before she added, _"Everyone... With what happened today, we're going to be put under a lot of scrutiny from many people."_

As if on cue, Beacon's students began to trickle out bit by bit from the entrance door, and seeing the Mantle-users caused them to break out into a cacophony of excited murmurs as they either stared or pointed their fingers at them.

All they could do was to look back at the staring group in silence.

* * *

 _Later on..._

Gathered in the headmaster's office, the group of Mantle-users faced the headmaster, who was going back to his chair as he said; "First of all... thank you, all of you, for what you did out there, fighting the transformed Grimm. You've protected our city, and... prevented the fate that has befallen the other capital cities of the Four Kingdoms."

He then sat on his chair with a big sigh as he continued, "While you were out there, I've convinced the city council to send out a public message to the people of Vale telling them to go to nearby shelters. Though it's proven to be unnecessary... They now know the gist of your exploit." He smiled mirthlessly and said; "The earthquakes, the gust, the light show, the clear sky... Not to mention the fact that Mountain Glenn is _literally_ no more... It's impossible not to."

The students, along with Amber, all looked at each other with a sheepish smile on their faces. Jaune's reaction was to let out a faint sigh and to say, "I'm assuming that you're on full-on damage control." He stated rather than asked.

"Hm. I think it's more appropriate to call it 'moderation' in this context." Ozpin said, "The _real_ damage control... is another thing entirely. Something I won't bother the students by, but one that I want you, Jaune, along with Glynda and Amber to see." Ozpin then turned to the two teams and said; "Team RWBY, Team JNPR... Once again, thank you for your work. You've gone beyond the call of duty and have saved this city, you've saved a lot of people." He then smiled and said; "Take pride in it. Without all of you, Vale would've taken a hefty damage from the Grimm."

They all nodded with smiles on their faces, and when Ozpin told them to leave, they did so. Though their usual exuberance has been slightly diminished, they held their head up high as they left.

Now, as the four of them were left in Ozpin's chamber, Jaune asked the headmaster; "How bad is it?"

Ozpin sighed out loud as he removed his round-lensed glasses and put them on the table in front of him. As he rubbed the bridge of his nose, he said; "Atlas, Vacuo and Mistral are hurting." He revealed, "Atlas had the worst of it, not only were they caught unprepared, but the number of Grimm that attacked them seemed to be more than all the others that attacked Vacuo, Mistral and Vale combined."

"How many died?" Glynda asked immediately.

"The exact number is still unclear, but my estimation is that each capital cities suffer at least a hundred thousand lives, if not more, and I'm not even going to try to gauge how much it costs them in property damages." Ozpin said as he took a deep breath and let out another sigh, "Our allies there are now trying to recuperate, so if there's going to be a conference call, it'll have to be at a later date, but mark my words, it _will_ come."

The headmaster looked exhausted. It was as if he had aged a couple of years in the span of just a few hours, and that he is held together only by sheer force of will. "Jaune... I'm assuming that you were the one who... cleared up the sky."

Jaune nodded and crossed his arms, "I did."

"...Tell me what or _who_ you fought." Ozpin said, "Considering that they rendered you shirtless, you'd forgive me if I assume that they'd gave quite the fight."

He scoffed with a smile as he then said; "It did." He then turned serious and said; "And its strength... it's-"

" _Salutations!"_

Hearing a voice that was familiar to only three of the four in the room coming out of Ozpin's Table-Scroll shook them all. "That's... is that coming from your...?" Glynda wondered as she went to see Ozpin's computer on the desk, which showed a picture of a shirtless Jaune with Amber and Team RWBY and Team JNPR on the background, "...Ozpin...?" Glynda asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It... changed itself on me." Ozpin said.

"I _did that. He looks_ really _good, doesn't he?"_

"What are you looking at?" Amber asked as she went to look at Ozpin's Table-Scroll... and she subconsciously smiled at the sight, "Ah~, that picture looks pretty good, where'd you get that?" she asked.

" _It's on the interweb~! There's almost a hundred of pictures uploaded in the last few minutes, you're getting famous, Jaune~!"_

Jaune sighed as he cast his head down, his arms still crossed, and then he said; "Hello, Penny. You want to know what happened as well, don't you?"

" _Yup~! Hello Mr. Ozpin! I believe this is the first time we meet. Well, not physically anyway..."_

"Ah. It's nice to finally have a voice to go with the name." Ozpin stated with a small smile.

" _Can I stay and hear Jaune's report as well, Mr. Ozpin?"_

"Hm... I'll allow it." Ozpin said before he added, "Mostly because you asked nicely."

" _Why, my father always told me that good manners wins everytime."_ Penny said through the speakers.

Ozpin actually chuckled before he turned to Jaune and gestured his hand towards him while saying; "Go ahead then, Jaune... And please, start from the beginning and be as detailed as possible."

Jaune nodded before he began to tell them his account of the fight with the White Grimm, _everything_ about it... including with what he saw up there in the moon.

* * *

 _With the other Mantle-users..._

As they walked through Beacon's hallway to get to their dorm rooms, Yang said; "You know, it's a shame that we didn't get to stay in that cabin." she sighed and said; "Not to mention that we left our bags there too..."

"Well, maybe that training trip is still on the table." Pyrrha suggested, "I think being here for now is best, considering what happened and all."

"Yeah..." Ruby agreed, "That was... not _exhausting_ really, but more... it's kind of tiring in a way, but not... physically. You know what I mean?" she asked.

"It's called a mental burnout." Blake helped her leader, "Our brain can get tired, especially after hearing some bad news." She sighed before she added, "It's something you can get used to... But getting used to something like that is... rather sad on its own."

Weiss quietly hummed as she nodded, "Mhm... Either we get used to it, or we stop such things from happening..." she then looked at the others and said; "I don't know about you, but with what we have, I think we can do more than just 'get used' to it."

Weiss' declaration sounded more like a challenge. Everyone else looked at her with raised eyebrows, "Oh wow, that's quite a bold statement, coming from you." Yang stated.

"What?" Weiss asked with a frown as she huffed, "I can be daring when I want to." She stated, "And besides... Now that we're out in the open, I feel a bit... excited as well." She said as she looked around them.

As they passed other students, they realized that they were the center of attention. Everyone else were looking at them and whispering with those near them as if they were a group of fascinating outcasts.

"...Is this what you experienced back in Sanctum, Pyrrha?" June asked her partner.

"Pretty much, but I think that this is, in a way, worse." Pyrrha answered, "But I can say that being noticed as a part of a distinct group instead of a distinct individual feels different as well." She smiled and added, "It's much more bearable."

June chuckled before she added, "Well, we're glad to have taken off some of your burden, Pyrrha."

Nora giggled and added, "Anything is more fun when it's done together~!"

They all glanced at Nora for a moment before they either chuckled or smiled. It was a rather simplistic way to look at things as it stood now, but it had some truth to it. As long as one had friends, nothing would feel as difficult as it was.

They continued for another couple of seconds before their Scrolls suddenly rang at the exact same time. They looked at each other for a moment, knowing that it was not a coincidence that they were all messaged at the same time.

"It's from a group chat..." June said as she checked who it was, "It's from Coco, she saw the picture of us and Jaune arriving at Beacon... and she's asking us about the whole shebang on Mountain Glenn."

They all looked at each other for a moment before they all pursed their lips in their own way while frowning, looking rather uncomfortable and unsure. "...We have to tell her, don't we?" Ruby asked.

"I think we have to." June said with a nod.

* * *

 _With Coco minutes ago..._

Three pairs of eyes stared at the raw, unedited recording of the disaster that occurred on Mountan Glenn south of Vale. Using Velvet's Scroll, Coco showed the rippling air, the bright light show and finally, the total collapse of Mountain Glenn, the city, the mountain, _everything_ about Mountain Glenn...

"...Fffuuuuckk... " Coco muttered rather quietly with a breathy voice, "That is... I don't even _know_ what that is."

"I think the right word to describe that is 'terrifying', Coco." Said the tallest one in the room, a boy with really short black hair and tanned skin wearing a green asymmetrical traditional shirt of Eastern Mistralian fashion, "Other than that, I really don't know anything else."

"Yeah..." Velvet muttered, having been rendered speechless due to the whole thing, "It's all so... terrible. Whatever caused them, I'm just glad that we're nowhere near them when it happened."

"I guess so, but still, one word that can also describe all of that is that it's so _cooooool_!" Coco exclaimed as she stood up, "I don't know why, but it makes me so fired up! Much more fired up than going on a shopping spree all over Vale! The sound of explosions, the sight of that mountain crumbling, the terribly beautiful light show, the _fucking_ hole in the sky! By _Oum_ , there's something _wrong_ with me! But I just _love_ it so much!"

Everyone, even the young man of dark skin, red hair and completely white eyes who were with them, looked at her with wide eyes and slightly opened mouth. The shorter man of the two within the room then muttered, "...Coco, you're scaring me." He then turned to where Velvet was shaking and said; "You're scaring all of us."

Coco, who had been caught in some sort of euphoria, looked at her teammates and sat herself back down, "O-oh... Sorry..." she said as she sat down on her bed... "I'm not gonna retract all that though, Fox. I'mma stand by it all."

The red-haired young man named Fox simply sighed, "Yes yes, we've always known that you're a bit of a warmonger..." he said dismissively, "Still doesn't make you less scary."

Coco simply grinned as she said; "Oh I know." She then turned to Velvet and said; "Sorry Velv, I got a bit carried away there. Yatsuhashi, we good?"

The tall man, Yatsuhashi, simply smiled in exasperation as he nodded, "We're good." He then scoffed and added, "We know you're actually a bit of a softie underneath all that battle-nut persona."

"Wha- Heresy...!" Coco said with a grin and a glare, "I'm far from being a 'softie', how dare you insinuate that I'm such a thing, sir!"

"Yeah yeah..." Yatsuhashi simply waved it off with a chuckle. "Whatever you say, boss."

"Hmph. Softie..." Coco pouted as she crossed her arms and looked away from them.

As everything calmed down, they all began to turn their attention to something else. Fox went and began to laze around on his bed, Yatsuhashi went to the bathroom while Coco and Velvet went and use their Scrolls... At which point the latter two saw something that made them stop.

"Whoa..." Coco muttered as she looked at the sight of the new assistant professor, all shirtless, showing the sheer bulk of his well-built muscles. "Velv, you-" she stopped when she saw Velvet staring at her Scroll so intently.

"Hello? Earth to Velvet...?" Coco called out to her friend, who seemed to have not heard her in any way. Coco grinned at how focused Velvet was being, 'My my...' she shook her head as she looked back at the image... and saw that it was recently taken. "Wait, are those June and the others?" she wondered out loud.

"...Eh? They were there?" Velvet asked before she looked at the picture again, "Oh there they are." She muttered before she frowned and turned to Coco... whose grin was even wider now. "...What?"

"Nothing~" Coco answered before she said; "Still, the teach's look like he'd been in a fight, huh?" she frowned as she hummed, "Hmmm... I wonder... Alright."

Velvet saw Coco quickly typing in something on her Scroll and with a grimace she approached her, "What are you typing?" she asked as she looked at what she's writing... "...Wait, why do you think that they have something to do with it?"

"Eh, I'm just spitballing here." Coco answered before she hit send. She waited for a reply for a second before she turned to Velvet... who was crossing her arms and were looking at her with raised eyebrows, prompting the leader to sigh, "The photo showed that they arrived here by airship _from_ Vale with that professor _after_ the whole 'take shelter' thing... It has to be connected somehow."

"That's all you're basing it on?" Velvet asked before she sighed, "I suppose it does make sense in a way, but really? I thought you're working on your impulse control?"

"I _am,_ but if I'm right, this is _really_ big, Velv!" Coco insisted. Then, as if on cue, the Scroll let out a ringtone, "Speaking of which..." she looked at the sent message and smiled, "'We need to talk'..." she turned to Velvet with a wide grin on her face and raised eyebrows.

Velvet sighed as she gently placed her hand on her leader's cheek and pushed, "Fine, you're right, no need to look so smug about it."

"Hehe...!" As Velvet removed her hand, Coco sent another message, "'Meet... Me... at... the History classroom... Velvet... along with... my other team members... will come as well."

"We are?" Fox asked with a drawl from his bed.

"We are what?" Yatsuhashi asked as he got out of the bathroom and closed the door.

Coco chuckled and said; "We are going to the history classroom." Coco stood up and exclaimed; "Suit up everyone! We're going to interview a couple of real-life heroes! Maybe. Anyways, let's go!"

* * *

 _Meanwhile..._

The headmaster's chamber was rendered silent after what Jaune revealed to those who were listening. It was the only appropriate response for such a report considering its scope and what it implied.

Ozpin was covering his mouth with the palm of his right hand as he said, "...How did it escape our notice?" his voice was quiet, subdued, almost to the point of being a whisper, "We have telescopes that looked beyond our planet, how haven't we... seen it before?"

Jaune shrugged and said; "Maybe it has some sort of illusion barrier. Either way, there's _something_ lying within the moon's cracks. And it's linked to whoever or whatever's controlling the Grimm."

"That is..." Glynda was looking down as she cupped her chin, her face filled with utter anxiety, "That is quite disturbing, not just the fact that it has gone unnoticed for quite a long time, but to think that it has to do with the Grimm as well..."

" _It is certainly disquieting... But it's all the more reason we need to find out more about this black mass."_ Penny's voice said through the speakers, _"We mustn't be discouraged."_

"Of course, but the problem is that none of us knows what it's capable of doing." Ozpin said, "For now, we have to focus on what's _here_ on this planet first. The changed Grimm, the war they've declared, all of that need to be addressed first."

"Right." Jaune said with a nod, "So for now, we need to wait until things die down a bit in other countries, yeah?"

"Right, but!" Ozpin lifted up his right hand a bit and extended his index finger upward, "Considering that Vale is very much intact, the media are being _very_ active in speculating everything. I've been watching the news feed all over the interweb, and..." Ozpin sighed as he said; "There needs to be an official statement. The city council has all but demanded it."

"And that's... you, right?" Amber asked.

Ozpin simply smiled, one that is hollow and tired, "That remains to be seen..." he said rather cryptically before he looked at Jaune, "Considering how things are going... it's very likely that I'm going to have to share the burden."

* * *

 _With Team CFVY and others..._

"Hey guys! Come on in!" Coco yelled at the eight-member team who entered the empty classroom usually used by Oobleck. She was sitting on the table front and center that is supposed to be used by the doctor only while Velvet, Fox and Yatsuhashi all took separate chairs for students. "So... pretty weird day huh? Mountain Glenn got destroyed, there's still this big hole in the cloudless sky... Whaddya think about all that?"

The eight-member team all smiled, and June said; "C'mon, like you haven't arrived at the conclusion at this point."

"Aha!" Coco exclaimed as she stood up and smacked her hands on the table, "So you _are_ involved in all of them! Along with that hot assistant professor!"

"Yes yes, we're all accomplices in all that." Weiss immediately said, "No point in denying that, not that there's a point in playing around either." She stated flatly as she looked at Coco with unimpressed eyes and arms crossed. "It's not like it's not obvious."

"I know I know." Coco said as she waved dismissively, "Still, this is exciting! Real-life superhero figures!" she then huffed and pouted, "And they're _younger_ than us! I don't know whether I should be offended or even more awed..."

The other three second years sighed as their leader was grinning. Yatsuhashi and Fox raised their hands as the former said; "Hello. I believe we haven't been introduced yet, have we? Yatsuhashi Daichi, and that one is Fox Alistair."

"What's up?" Fox asked.

"...Um, are you blind?"

"Ruby!" Yang and Weiss immediately hit their leader's head out of disapproval at the same time.

"Ooooowwwwww...!" Ruby nursed her head as she closed her eyes shut.

Blake shook her head in dismay while June and Nora simply laughed along with Coco and Fox, the latter of whom simply waved it off, "It's fine. In fact, I like that she asked that, it feels refreshing."

"Y-you're not mad?" asked Blake.

"Why should I? She was genuinely curious, there's nothing wrong with that." Fox shrugged, "And yeah, I'm blind." He confirmed.

"Oh." Ruby said before the room fell silent again for a couple of seconds until... "So, how do you fight without-?"

This time, Ruby got her cheeks pulled by Yang and Weiss while Blake chopped the top of her head with the right side of her right hand. "Auwawawawawawww..."

Thankfully, Team CFVY all simply laughed at Ruby's expense along with Team JNPR. "Well, I have my other senses aiding me." He said as Yang and Weiss let go of Ruby's cheeks, "It's a surprise how well your other senses can compensate when one of them fails, that's all I can say."

"O-okay... Sorry..." Ruby said as she nursed her cheeks.

"Hey June." Coco called her, "What's your brother role in all this? Is he the leader with Glynda, or...?" she asked.

"Well... he's a key player, to say the least." She answered with a shrug and a smug, proud smile on her face, "Out of all of us, he is likely _the_ strongest one. Physically, mentally..."

"Even compared to Glynda?" she turned her attention back to her Scroll and showed them an image of Glynda flying while carrying a large amount of Dust ores. "Seriously, even more than her?"

"Yeah." June said with a nod, which her friends did as well, "The hole in the sky? He did that. With a single punch."

The eyes of Team CFVY's members widened, "A... punch?" asked Yatsuhashi.

"Yup." Yang said with a grin, "One punch."

"B-but..." Velvet began to speak, "You guys didn't see that yourself, did you? I mean, how did you-?"

They all looked at one another before they turned to their upperclassmen, "If you know him as well as we do..." Ren began.

"You'd know that we're not lying." Pyrrha continued.

"He's super-duper strong!" Nora said excitedly, "We're strong too, but he's on another level compared to us."

"And he _did_ fight something that could match him a little bit." June added with a frown, "Of course, my brother wasn't hurt, but if he weren't there, I think it would've taken all of us to fight that one beast. Professor Glynda could do it too, but it was... strong. Freakishly so."

Team CFVY looked at each other for a second before Coco cleared her throat, "So... can we see it? Your powers? That is, your Semblance?"

Team JNPR and Team RWBY looked at one another before they smiled, the kind of smile that suggested they knew something only they themselves knew, and then they turned and June said, "Semblance... isn't what we have."

"It has another name." Said Ruby as she manifested the red rose petals from the disintegrating, regenerating edge of her mantle that then turned to crackling silver lightning. On cue, the others did the same thing, showing their Mantles, in all their glory, to the upperclassmen. "It's called..."

" **Mantle."** They all said at the same time.

Team CFVY couldn't help but to gape at the sight of the eight with their brilliant, vivid constructs. Of different colors and shapes. "...Whoa." Coco muttered.

"That is..." Yatsuhashi could barely comprehend what he was seeing.

"...Incredible." Velvet said before she pouted and cursed, "Damn it, I should've brought my camera..."

"...Mind telling me what's going on exactly?" asked Fox.

* * *

 _Later on..._

As he walked through Emerald Forest, Drei simply let his body being controlled by his subconscious while he let his mind wander on.

The Alpha was awakened, changed, and defeated. Though the beast is soundly beaten, it was more due to Jaune's immense strength, if he himself fought it, if the other Mantle users fought it at the same time as he was, it would've taken a lot out of them before finally caving in.

He never thought himself weak before. After all, he has lived for a very long time, he didn't just _survive,_ he _thrived,_ he grew up to become a powerful Grimm above almost every other Grimm to the point no one bothered him as he slept.

Fighting the transformed Grimm was quite an eye opening. What was that old human saying? Above the sky is another sky? He faced a couple of his kind of Grimm before, back when he first gained his pupils, when he was roaming all over the world, eager to test the waters of his capability, and though there were few of his kind, they were _all_ powerful, some were even more powerful than he was.

Despite that however, all of them decided to leave each other well enough alone. Unlike the rest of their brethren, they did not have predilection for utter destruction nor did they want to inflict that to anything, not after their transformation.

Now though, with the advent of a new kind of Grimm that saw him as an enemy, Drei saw a need for him to become more.

However, seeing a _need_ to do something compared to _actually_ doing it were two different things. Should he really do it?

Drei half-growled half-sighed as he entered the opening in which the wood cabin was located and began to pace around the area.

Once it was done, there would no turning back. He supposed that it was due to him being _so_ used to being a wolf. To complete his transformation was something that he postponed due to not needing it, as he didn't want to compete with those who already did theirs.

Maybe he should leave this problem to them, the Mantle-users. That was why they're here, right? He should just remove himself from the equation altogether.

Still, he wanted to _do_ more. His very _nature_ was Independence, he does what he wants when he wants them, including when he wanted to lay low and sleep, and now, what he wanted was to _do_ something in response to this.

"Hrm..." Drei hummed/growled before he shook his head and went silent. He looked back to where Beacon was and realized something...

There was no way that he wasn't going to be alongside them. He had been postponing this for too long anyway...

Might as well do what he had delayed for too long.

He lifted his front paws up before he slammed them down, tilted his head down and arched his back up, kick-starting violent vibrations that shot throughout his body...

* * *

 _Later on..._

The city was restless. Why wouldn't it be? Considering what happened, to not be restless would be the strangest thing. Recently, Neo had been around to see the citizens' sentiment after the whole fiasco in Industrial District, and even then, the feeling of anxiety and caution weren't as pervasive as it was now.

As she walked on a sidewalk in the shopping district, Neo took notice of her surroundings, how the people who were there seemed to not be as lively or as numerous as they were before. There was uneasiness in the air, a tense atmosphere that Neo could equate to her experience whenever she knew that Roman had something mysterious in plan, such as his failed Dust purchase.

She kept on walking, passing by the sparse crowd on the sidewalk as her mind replayed the image of his dead grotesque body. She shook her head, dismissing the still vivid memory that she began to think would never leave her mind. At least before she could do a certain something... Kill a certain someone...

Still, it reminded her why she was walking rather briskly to her destination. Just before, Ozpin sent her a message which she must show to a certain person of interest taking refuge in a certain club in the district. Considering how busy he must be, she wasn't surprised that the task is relegated to her.

The man must be preparing a speech. After all, she was told that there will be a public statement from a representative from Beacon soon, to be broadcasted all over the world. Just a moment in the life of Beacon's Headmaster who is facing a worldwide Grimm Crisis, she supposed.

It was a couple of minutes later that she finally arrived. Junior's Club, still with the muffled techno music audible to those outside yet what it lacked now were people. Even during the day, the place is often packed, but right now, the parking was largely free and there was no line to queue behind.

She entered, and found the lights on but the dancing floor empty. There were some people on the tables around, but not as many as she was used to. The place was devoid of its usual livelihood, the loud music only served as a rather surreal contrast to what the whole place looked like currently.

'And I bet that all these people were _her_ people...' Neo thought as she glanced at the people around her who regarded her as if she was a possible threat.

Neo walked towards the stairs leading to the second-floor balcony, the VIP section, getting through bouncers who simply let her, though not without a glare sent her way. Unlike the first floor, the second floor has lounges instead of booths for people to sit at, with collection of leather chairs for each person instead of a wide one for more than one.

On one of the groupings of chairs near the edge sat a group of people who seemed to be having fun, especially the tall blonde woman who were talking with a pair of twin girls with long and short black hair dressed in white and red dress respectively.

"So tell me, how long have you two been working here?" she asked as she had the twins sitting on the armrests of her chair.

"Why the interest?" asked the twin in white with a drawl, "Are you looking for some eye candy to spice up your bedroom?"

"What my sister _meant_ to say is..." the red-clad sister quickly interjected, "do you want us just for our bodies or for our services too?"

Dea/Giorna chuckled, "Mostly for the latter. I don't take anyone I've only known for about a couple of hours to bed. No, you two seem skilled enough to be enforcers, why haven't you ever offered your services to others?"

"Stability mostly." Said the red-clad twin, "Junior provides us with housing in addition to salary."

"And not to mention that we're not really that skilled or strong." Said the twin clad in white, "We can handle civilians stirring up trouble, but if it's a Huntsman..."

"Ah, lack of Huntsman training." Dea/Giorna remarked, "I still see that as an excuse, however..." she drawled as she looked at the white-clad twin, "Tell me Melanie," she then turned to the red twin, "Militia... what _really_ bounds you two here?"

Before the twin could answer, Neo tapped the tip of her parasol to the hard floor, announcing her arrival and prompting Dea to turn and look at her, "Ah! Neo, welcome, welcome!" she said rather boisterously, "Come, take a seat." She said, but after seeing Neo going directly to her without stopping, she said; "Or are you here as a messenger?" she asked.

Before she could get to her, Dea's right-hand woman, Brie, stepped in front of her. Neo glared at the taller woman for a few seconds before Dea's chuckle cut the tension, "Hmmhmhm... Come now, Brie dear... I think Neo deserves to come to me without so much of a frisk by now."

Brie huffed before she moved out of the way despite the noise of displeasure she made, prompting Neo to step closer to Dea before she stopped and looked at the twins before looking at Dea.

"Speak." Dea said before her eyebrows rose up, "It's not as if you are mute."

Neo's left eye twitched before one of the twins, the white-clad Melanie, said, "So you _can_ speak." She then smiled rather smugly before saying, "Hm."

Neo narrowed her eyes at the girl before she huffed, shook her head and said; "Whatever." She then looked back at Dea and said; "I'm here sending a message from The Man Uphill."

"Our _mutual_ acquaintance." Dea stated with a smile before she asked, "What does he want this time?" she asked.

"More like what he can _offer_." Neo said before she took out her Scroll and threw it at her, which she caught deftly on her hand and then used it without even pausing.

"...Hm." Dea's expression changed as her eyes roamed all over the Scroll's screen, becoming more stern, "I see..." she then quickly tapped on the Scroll, and after a few seconds, the Scrolls of the people on her immediate surroundings rang.

When Dea handed back her Scroll, Neo took it back and pocketed it before saying, "I'll take that as a yes?"

"That's a maybe." Dea said with a nod before she grabbed a shot of drink on the table in front of her, "Bring me The Guardian first, then we'll talk." Dea said before she took a sip, "Ah... So... are you privy to what went on out there on Mountain Glenn?"

"Not really." Neo answered truthfully with a shrug.

"Oh? Is that why you are agitated?" Dea asked as she looked at her up and down.

Neo sighed as she said, "No, just... I remembered a certain dead guy, s'all."

The look on Dea's eyes soften a bit as her smile became less mocking, "I see. Well, there are two things that can make you relaxed, and to my knowledge, both can be done on a sparring mat. Hope you got something in mind."

"Oh I _do_ have one." Neo said before she looked at the white-clad girl, "Wanna know why I never bothered to speak near you before?" she asked.

"...Why?" the girl, Melanie, asked with narrowed eyes.

"Because I never want to speak to people I don't like or respect." Neo said before she added, "It's a condition, maybe you've heard of it, the 'Fuck Scrubs' Syndrome? You're a scrub, you should've at least heard it once."

"Why you..!" Melanie briskly stepped off of the armchair.

"Sister! Calm down!" Militia was immediately at her side, preventing Melanie from approaching Neo. "She's baiting you, don't take-"

The sound akin to a chandelier being shaken took their attention as they saw Neo's form being engulfed by liquid reflective glass that made it appear as if she was sucked into a mirror. They saw Neo smiling before the 'mirror' shattered into numerous tiny pieces that shot _right_ towards the twins.

They raised their arms to protect themselves, and they failed to see the flicker made by the light-speed movement of a light beam that went from one piece of glass to another until it reached a piece of glass that was right to the twins' right, whereupon it shot out for one last time... in the form of Neo who shoulder-charged them off of the second floor and _o_ _nto_ the dance floor below.

The twins' landing was rough as they got the wind knocked out of them by the glowing hard floor. However, they quickly picked themselves up and prepared their weapons, Melanie quickly donned her pair of black claws on the back of her hands while the back of Militia's shoes opened up, revealing a small blade on the back of each shoe that were attached to the heels.

"Ugh... are you okay?" Militia asked her sister.

"I'm fine." She replied back.

"What the _HELL_ is going on here?!" asked one irate Hei "Junior" Xiong, who immediately went to the twins, "Militia, Melanie, who's causing trouble?!"

The sound of a loud clap drew their attention, and they saw Neo looking down on them with a smug smile on her face before she shattered like a glass again.

"What is that anyway? Her Semblance?" Militia wondered as she looked around her surroundings.

Melanie looked around her for a moment... before she looked down and saw that there were pieces of glass on the floor. "She's-!"

There was a moment where Melanie saw the beam of light materializing from one of the pieces, and she reacted with using her weapons to block the incoming attack, which came in the form of Neo shoulder-charging her.

It shattered under the sheer force that Neo exerted with her charge, and she followed it with a kick to her left knee which sent her buckling down, and an elbow to the left cheek which sent her down to the floor.

Militia attacked then, her bladed heels went for Neo in a flurry of kicks and sweeps that sent Neo back a couple of feet, away from Melanie, whom Junior tended to as Militia was busy.

The white-clad twin continued to attack, and she delivered an axe kick... which Neo swiftly dodged before she thrust her parasol to her stomach and pushed, sending her flying back and crashing into Junior in the process.

Neo then pointed her finger at them and from behind her, silver lights that looked as if it were reflected by the surface of a rippling body of water materialized before hard light projectiles with sharp ends were _shot_ at them.

Above them, Dea and her comrades watched the whole spectacle with interest and glee.

"So _that's_ what you said about the whole 'Mantle' thing..." said a brown-eyed woman with a rather short, unkempt brown hair wearing a tight blue turtleneck sweater, a pair of red leather pants and a pair of dark gray boots, "Hm... Too flashy for me."

"Said the girl with a literally flashy Semblance." said a rather short woman with long black hair who had a pretty smiling face but was a bit lacking on her other feminine features. She was wearing a baggy black dress shirt, a pair of black jeans and a pair of black shoes.

"Jeez, what a rowdy bunch..." muttered a blonde girl wearing a long-sleeved green jacket with a pattern of black dots over a strapless purple crop top that showed quite a bit of her bountiful cleaveage, a pair of green pants and a pair of black shoes.

"Aren't you going to stop her, Brie?" asked a woman with long, well-kept, straight white hair who was wearing a full-on black suit and trousers set with a white tie.

"...There's no need to." Brie said as she looked at Dea, especially at the look of keen interest in her eyes, "It's what the boss wants to see as well after all. Might as well let it be."

"Won't we have to pay for the damages though?" asked the brown-haired woman. "Not to mention compensate Junior and the twins?"

"Leave it to me." Dea said without even looking at them, "And keep your eyes on her." She pointed at Neo, who was now engaged in combat with the twins _and_ Junior, "Watch her every move." She ordered, and they listened.

It was a couple of minutes later, in the middle of the ruined dance floor, the broken, scattered furnitures, the whole shebang that the twins and Junior were lying on the ground in front of the triumphant Neo. "...Considering that you three lived after facing me using a _fraction_ of my capability, I guess you earned the right to listen to my voice now."

"...Bitch." Militia muttered.

"...Is that why... you picked a fight?" Melanie asked, slightly out of breath, "You wanted... us to... earn some sort of... privilege?"

"You can say that." Neo said with a shrug before she turned to Junior, "So you work with Dea now, huh? I guess I should've kept in touch after all."

"Screw you..." Junior wheezed out before he turned to his boss and said; "Sorry for the damages, boss."

"No need for all that concern, Junior." Dea said with a dismissal wave of her hand. "And Neo, thank you for showing what you're capable of." She then grinned and said, "Bring me The Guardian now, I want to talk to him first before I agree to anything that The Man Uphill's offering."

Neo's left eyebrow rose up before she asked, "Feeling a bit greedy, are we?"

"Oh you have _no_ idea..." Dea said with a grin before she asked, "Fancy a drink? It's on the house."

Before Neo could answer however, Brie spoke, "Boss. You'd want to see this." She then looked at Junior and said; "Pick yourself up and turn on the TV! Quickly! And raise the volume up!"

Junior did it, grumbling in protest and limping as he did so, but he did it, and the large-screen TV showed a podium with a white background with small icons of Beacon's sigil. It was empty for a moment, but then someone stepped in and stood in front-and-center, someone dressed in green formal ensemble.

'Ozpin... this I have to see.' Neo thought before she made her way to the bar and served herself a drink.

* * *

 _Meanwhile..._

"Good morning." Ozpin started, "As you all no doubt know, Atlas, Mistral and Vacuo's capital cities were attacked today by the Grimm. Casualties, both property and life, are still being counted, but it is predicted that it was the greatest disaster that we have ever faced in known history."

His expression was stone-like, calm and stern, betraying none of his thoughts out, "We in Vale experienced something different instead. We saw and heard the explosions that happened far away, we heard, saw and felt the quake left by the collapse of Mountain Glenn, and we saw and felt the clouds above clearing, creating a massive hole that we can still see now. Despite all this, Vale is not at all affected by the destruction."

He paused for a moment before he said, "Citizens of Vale, I'm here to tell you that we _were_ about to be attacked by the Grimm. There was a swarm of them advancing towards our city at about the same time that the others attacked Atlas, Mistral and Vacuo. As to why we are left unscathed in comparison to others... It is because we were saved by a group of extraordinary Huntsmen."

Ozpin took a moment to take a breath before he continued, "These Huntsmen are young, most of them are students of Beacon, led by a professor and the Academy's deputy headmistress. Despite their age however, their unleashed potential was enough for them to answer the call when the Grimm announced their attack." He then added with an insistence in his voice, "Citizens of Vale, none of us here who are still alive would be here if it weren't for them."

He would not let them be looked at with suspicion. They were heroes, they deserved to be regarded with respect. "This Grimm attack shows us that they are still a prevalent threat to our very existence. Worse, they are now more powerful, more organized, and are mobilizing as a united force. I believe that, to answer this threat, we need Huntsmen of higher caliber. The group that defended Vale from a Grimm incursion are such Huntsmen."

Ozpin let out a breath that he was holding. This was it, this was the moment, "With the other three Kingdoms still recuperating from the loss, we in Vale are left to defend ourselves. This group of Huntsmen will be the frontline of our defense _and_ offense alongside our law enforcement and other Huntsmen. Should the other Kingdoms call for our aid, we will see what we can do to help."

He then said, "Now I will introduce you to one of the leader of this group. He will explain the details of what occurred in Mountain Glenn, his group, and what their mission is going to be." He then tilted his body a bit and gestured to the right with his left arm, "Please welcome, Professor Jaune Arc."

As Ozpin took an exit stage left, Jaune, clothed in his 'space cadet' blue suit/jacket, entered and walked to the podium. He stood there for a second, looked at the camera, took a deep breath and said; "Good morning." He greeted, "As Headmaster Ozpin said before, an army of Grimm did try to make a march to Vale. They were thwarted by the efforts of my allies, my comrades in the field while I faced their leader."

He leaned down a bit, supporting himself with his hands on the podium and continued, "The destruction of Mountain Glenn and the hole in the sky is due to our fight. It was a humanoid Grimm that had the physical trait of a dragon, and its destructive power forced me to respond in kind. Though the beast is now dead and the group of Grimm that tried to attack Vale are also no more, the attack on the other three capital cities is a sign that this is not over."

His blue eyes looked directly at the camera in front of him as he said; "We are now at war."

* * *

 _In Junior's Club..._

Neo along with everyone who were there watched Jaune's speech raptly.

" _For many years now, we have lived in the fear of Grimm. The progress of technology and the peace time we've experienced might have caused us to forget that, but now we have been harshly reminded that we have only been living off of delaying the inevitable. That someday, we all will be pitted against them again."_

'Blunt. Nice, no need to mince words considering what's happened.' Neo thought with a smile as she took a sip of whiskey.

* * *

 _In Beacon, inside the History class..._

" _The Grimm has become powerful, this is true. Even Atlas, the most advanced, most militarized Kingdom of them all, faced trouble when pitted against an army of them. But please, do not lose heart. They are pulling back for now, and it is high time for us to recuperate and unite."_

"Wow, he's doing _really_ well." Coco remarked as the three teams were now watching Jaune's speech through her small Scroll, "He really knows how to talk in front of people, huh?"

Team RWBY and JNPR simply smiled as Jaune continued his speech...

* * *

 _Behind the camera that was set-up in front of Jaune..._

"To the citizens of Vale, we are here to protect you. To Atlas, Mistral and Vacuo, should the circumstances allow us, we will be there to assist you as well. The Grimm are hiding now, but when the time comes, we will be there to assist you."

Amber looked at Glynda and said; "You're not helping him with this, are you?"

' _Only a little bit.'_ She heard her voice inside her head, and Amber couldn't help but to shake her head. _'Right now, he's only offering rhetoric, which is fine, considering that we have to try and withhold the existence of Mantle and Penny on the down low as we can allow it until we_ really _have to show them... But I hope this is enough.'_

Amber smiled and mentally said, 'Hey, in my experience, sometimes a group who are down just need a little bit of pep talk. The people really need this kind of thing right now.'

' _Hm... I suppose it's true.'_

* * *

 _In the Arc household in Hamlet..._

" _Our group are small in numbers, but we have proven ourselves on the battlefield just moments ago. We are strong, and we_ can _and_ will _protect Vale and help those whom we can reach. So please, call this hotline here or send e-mails here."_

Jeanne quickly took a screenshot of Jaune and the numbers and e-mail address right below him, "There we go."

Arthur smiled as he said, "Jaune Arc, literally giving a speech to the whole world after saving a Kingdom... Not even our ancestors had that kind of prestige."

Jeanne sighed as she leaned on her husband's shoulder. Both of them were sitting on the sofa in their living room, watching Jaune through a mobile Scroll that Arthur was holding, "I have a feeling that he doesn't even care about such a thing."

"Heh. You may be right..." Arthur said, "But isn't that a good thing that his intention to help and give hope to people is pure?"

She smiled and said; "I suppose..." she trailed off into another sigh, "Am I over-thinking this?"

"Just a bit." Arthur said.

"Mm." She snuggled against her husband even more before she said; "...I'm glad he turned out... quite alright, all things considered."

"Me too." He then kissed the top of her head and said; "Me too."

* * *

 _Back to Jaune..._

"As stated before, our mission is to assist. To protect and serve, not just Vale, but the world if need be." Jaune took a deep breath before he said; "This is our mantle, our role. We are The Guardians of the people, The Hunters of the dark, The Bane of the scourge of humanity." He paused for a moment to let his words sink in, "That was the original oath of the Huntsmen. It used to be the norm to recite it when one graduates a Huntsman Academy, back when the Grimm was our only enemy. Now that they have become the most prominent threat we have once again, Our group will be the first one to start moving back to our roots."

Jaune straightened his back and said; "Our mission is to protect the people from the Grimm and become the Grimm's worst nightmare. We will face them head on without fear, for the sake of those who are behind us. We will be the weapons of humanity against the darkness."

* * *

 _In Emerald Forest..._

 _We will be sword._

A tall, semi-humanoid figure with black furs on several spots on its body was hunching down as it breathed heavily with an opened mouth, showing the sharp fangs within it. It gritted its teeth as it began to vibrate violently again and changing its form. Despite how painful it seemed however, it did not scream.

* * *

 _On Ground Zero..._

 _We will be shield._

A solitary figure walked leisurely as she is surrounded by the corpses of the transformed Grimm that has yet to be cleaned up from what remained of the battle that occurred. From afar, the small girl with short brown hair and rather conservative clothing looked out of place in the battlefield, but on closer look, as she smiled, one would notice that the girl's grin was shark-like, unnaturally wide with teeth that are too white and sharp to be normal, and her green eyes seemed to turn to pink for a moment before it changed back...

* * *

 _In outer space..._

 _We will be your defenders against the darkness._

As the broken moon loomed over Remnant, the darkness on its body remained _almost_ completely still, almost like a shadow of a deathly-still thing...

* * *

 _With Jaune..._

"Those who want to join us are welcome to come. In this united effort, help in any kind of form are appreciated and we will see to it that it is put to good use." Jaune then leaned forward a bit, supported with one arm on the podium and said; "I know that for now you only have our word, but we _will_ prove our sincerity. This is the start of our retaliation against the Grimm, and we hope in the near future, we will have earned your trust."

Jaune then tilted his head down slightly and said; "Thank you. May Oum be with us all."

As the camera is turned off, a voice echoed on the sound system on the makeshift studio, _"Aaaand cut! Great job, Jaune! Alright, I'm checking what the people thought of that, aaaand... most of them are positive!"_

Jaune nodded, "Good." He then took a deep breath before releasing it slowly, "That was... new." He muttered.

He then heard the sound of people clapping, and when he looked up, he saw that Glynda, Amber, Ozpin, along with the sound system are doing it. In face of the show of appreciation, he smiled and said; "Thank you. Really, I thought I was going to do badly."

"That. Was. Amazing." Amber said as she approached and hugged him. She then looked up to meet his eyes and asked, "And this is the first time you've ever spoke in front of a live camera?"

"Mmhm."

"Tsk. Your raw talent is scary, you know that?" she asked with a wide grin.

"Indeed." Glynda said as she approached him, "That was an _excellent_ work."

" _And 88.82% of the watchers on the net think that too."_ Penny said, _"Wait, make that 88.67% ...Ah, now make that 89.67%! Yes!"_

Jaune nodded, thankful that the feedback was great, better than he initially thought. "Now we have to inform RWBY and JNPR." He stated, "That, and..." he turned to Ozpin and said; "Move past Phase One."

"Indeed." Ozpin agreed with a nod, "Now that Team RWBY and JNPR has proven to be very essential... I think it's time." He then tilted his head up slightly and asked, "What about things on your end, Ms. Penny?"

" _All Ready."_

"Good." Ozpin approved with a nod, "Good... With what we're facing, we're going to need all that we can get to assist us." He then turned to Jaune again and said; "It's going to be a different game from now."

"...How?" Jaune asked, "How is it any different than before?"

Ozpin stopped at that for a couple of seconds before he cast his head down and shook his head with a laugh. "Apologies." He said before he chuckled, "I suppose I was talking to myself more than to you." He answered, "You are right however, it might not be all that different now in your eyes... But to me, it _is_. Perhaps it has been changed _long_ before I even realized it."

Out of the three who were there, Jaune and Glynda immediately had a look of understanding while Amber said; "What are you on about?"

Ozpin simply chuckled again before saying, "Nothing, Ms. Amber, just... a rambling from an old man, that's all." He said as he dismissed it with a wave of his hand.

Over the course of his life until recently, he had been playing a game of cloak and dagger, playing conspiracies, setting up people as if they were pieces in a chessboard as he stood against his sworn enemy who was playing the same game as he was.

On the board they played against each other, leaders that used others to further their cause... In this analogy, he and his enemy were the chess players competing against each other while surrounded by dirt, grime and garbage which represent the how many things in the world that they ignore as they play their game and Jaune was an unknown janitor who intruded, knocking the board away from them by kicking the table between them and then went on his own way to continue cleaning the surroundings, rendering all their previous strategies, all their previous planning, all their accumulated progress null.

Ozpin, through that analogy, realized something. 'Then I suppose I am the player who tried to set things back up... only for my opponent to chase after the janitor instead.' He chuckled and shook his head, 'Of course, it's not as if it's a bad thing. Right now, the playing field is more straightforward, more open...' Even though he recognized now that the narrative has been changed and that he was no longer a player, but despite that, Ozpin felt somewhat glad.

Turning over to the young man, he called to him; "Jaune." he walked closer to him and put his left hand on his left shoulder, "You are in charge now. I'll handle the politics, Oum knows no one but the unfeeling really deserves to handle such a thing... So the frontline will be left to you." He then extended his right hand and said; "It's appropriate in this case to say congratulations, but... I'd say this is a position that only few would envy you for having. So in lieu of that, I just want to tell you... good luck."

Jaune nodded as he reciprocated with a handshake, which was topped off by Ozpin saying; "We're all counting on you."

* * *

 **To Be Continued... On Volume 2**

 **Volume 1 – 'Mantle'**

 **END**

* * *

 **Yes, I did end this chapter with a slightly edited quote from** _ **Airplane!,**_ **still, I think the sentence was appropriate.**

 **So this chapter ends this fic's 'Volume 1', as it were, with its purpose fulfilled, such as establishing main characters; the heroes, the villains and those in between, establishing the looming threat that the heroes are facing and also changing the world's status quo a bit earlier -and in a different way- than canon by having the** _ **other**_ **capital cities getting attacked instead of Vale while also promising more to come.**

' **Volume 2' will deal with something a bit different, like how Canon's Volume 4 changed its main setting(s) and focus thanks to Beacon's destruction and the separation of most of the main characters. Now that Jaune's band of Huntsmen-in-training + a couple of professors is responsible for really,** _ **really**_ **important stuff, the scope of the story will be wider.**

 **Now unfortunately, I have to announce a hiatus. 'Volume 2' will take a while to be written, and I apologize for that. However, I** _ **will**_ **come back with Volume 2 chapters, even though I'm currently unable to say** _ **when**_ **exactly, but I will come back.**

 **I'll close this by expressing my thanks to you readers for reading this story of mine, you're all great, you really are, and I hope you will continue reading this story.'ll see you at the next Volume, as it were. Have a great day, people.**

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 **!**

 **Oh, I forget, there's still more to this chapter. Some sort of an after-credits scene you could say. Enjoy!  
**

* * *

Though his Scroll in front of him showed the speech made by the filthy blonde-haired human, his eyes weren't focused and his ears weren't hearing his voice as he sat in front of the wooden table, hunching a bit with his hands clasped in front of him.

One of his subordinates showed him this video, saying that it was important, but he didn't say anything, which his subordinate somehow translated as 'put it in front of me'. To be fair, his subordinate did not know what was going through his mind right now.

For once, it was not about Blake nor was it about humans and how he hated them all... Instead, it was about his group, the White Fang.

To be frank, he needed them to be more than what they were now. At the state that the three out of four capital cities were in right now, they should've taken a clear opportunity to strike, but instead, most of them cowered and vetoed his suggestion.

De-centralized form of governance in the White Fang was something that Adam Taurus found wanting. Sure, it served a purpose, mainly being that if a cell is ever compromised, the movement as a whole wouldn't wilt and wither due to them losing their foundation.

 _Everyone_ is the foundation in White Fang, so while he was acknowledged as one of the leaders of the group, his orders can be vetoed if the majority wanted it. In Adam's eyes, this is a major flaw in their community.

If things went _his_ way, if his words were _law,_ things would have gotten _done._ At least that was how he saw things.

Something needed to change.

"What do you think, boss?"

The sound of one of his subordinate brought him out of his reverie. He turned to look at him, at his unremarkable, ordinary look, before he stood up and left the tent he was in and into the campsite located at a snowy forest, darkened by the night.

He went off on his own with his head tilted down slightly, all the while, he could hear his people muttering things such as...

" _-train's supposed to be an easy job, bu- Oh shit, he's there."_

As he passed his people, his subordinates, he continued to hear their comments on his failed train job.

" _-foiled by the traitor, d'you think that he's being too sof-... shit, look away."_

The failure was regarded by many as a low point in his otherwise unblemished career in White Fang, and despite his annoyance, he could not deny it. He absolutely failed that job in a _very_ spectacular way. Of course criticism is expected to be flung by his people.

" _-this is what you get when you get involved with your peers, you get handicapped if one of you become..."_

He tightened his fists as he gritted his teeth, prompting those near him to back off as he went to the border that separated the base and the thick snowy forest and walked past it to go into the snowy wilderness.

Facing the literal cold and the relatively silent environment tempered Adam's mind. His hands were no longer balled into fists and he wasn't seeing red. As always, nature provided him with relief when he sought it, but it was not enough. Restlessness pervaded his very being, and not even nature's soothing effect could really quell it.

So he walked and walked, not caring about how long it's going to be, or where he was going, what mattered was that he kept on walking through the woods.

As he went deeper and deeper, the shadows became darker and the snow became denser and colder. What finally stopped him however was not the cold or the snow, but the darkness, one that suddenly appeared in front of him as if it were a puddle.

He frowned beneath his Grimm mask and then with slow, measured steps, he approached the thing while also reaching for Wilt's handle.

"What in the hell is this...?" he said as he got closer...

" **What do you think it is, Adam Taurus?"**

The voice, warped and inhuman as it was, came from the black goo, stopping him in his tracks as his grip on Wilt's handle tightened, "What _are_ you...?" he asked.

" **What I am... is your salvation. I sense your hatred. Your anger. Your thirst for...** _ **justice**_ **."** It spoke, **"I will give you what you want... what you** _ **need**_ **..."**

Adam gritted his teeth and said; "Tell me what you are!" he barked.

" **As I said before..."** the goo suddenly rose up as if it were alive, **"I am your salvation."**

The black mass lunged at him at such a speed that he failed to follow, and it engulfed him in but a second. Within the viscous black goo, he heard the warping voice spoke from _everywhere_ around him saying...

" **Whether you want it or** _ **not**_ **."**

And then the darkness swallowed his mind as well and he lost consciousness.

* * *

 **And that's that. See you when I see you!  
**


	17. Extra I

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the original content that I took to make the stories I publish in this here site.

* * *

 **Extra I: About Mantles and the inspirations for the story.**

* * *

First of all, this is not really a story chapter, but this is written to explain more about Mantle users, the story's inspirations and some story elements which might not be too obvious, especially with the characters, considering that there are no drawn images of what they, especially Jaune, looked like in my story, and I can't really draw that well.

Consider this like a commentary audio track on a DVD or Blu-ray but instead of talking about the scenes in the movie or what have you, you have me talking about the elements in the story, particularly about the things that I've altered from canon and 'original' concepts that I've introduced.

I will talk about three things in this chapter: First, about the title of this story and how that came to be. Secondly, about the concept of Mantle itself and the names of the characters' Mantles. And finally, about some of the OC characters I have that are important to the story.

Let's start with the title of this story.

* * *

 **About the title: "Jaune's Epic Journey: Mantle of Heroism"**

* * *

As you might've known, one of the influences of this story is Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. With that said, I made this title with said series in mind and as you can see, it fits the arrangement of the title.

(A name/nickname)'s (Adjective) (Words that can be equated to 'Adventure')

As for the Mantle of Heroism part, it's a play on word and a reference. Mantle can mean a cloak/cape, or it can mean a role, both of which reference Jaune in the story, considering Jaune's power and that he's a hero of the story, referencing his role and how his power manifests itself.

To those of you who have read the reasoning for the title, this is why I named it as such, it's a bit of an homage to one of the series that has become one of my favorites of all-time thanks to its strange but compelling charm.

And speaking of the title, I have created a poll in my author page. It's about whether or not the 'Jaune's Epic Journey' part from 'Jaune's Epic Journey: Mantle of Heroism' should be omitted. Quite a number of people have voted on it and though the majority said that I should, the number of people who voted that I shouldn't do it has made me a bit hesitant to change it. Should I do a reverse-Steel Ball Run and omit the first part of the whole title? We'll see.

Now, with this done, let's move on to a story element: Mantle.

* * *

 **About Mantle**

* * *

The inspiration for this particular concept is based on Jojo's Bizarre Adventure's Stands. For those of you who haven't read or watched Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, particularly Part 3 onward and thus don't know what a 'Stand' is, it's basically psychic power that is an extension of a living being's soul depicted as some sort of stylish astral projection or, as some call it; punch ghost, though I have to remind you that the punch ghost thing isn't a universal trait among Stands themselves, but it's the one trait that stands out thanks to the famous Stands from the series such as Star Platinum or The World, both from Part 3.

Of course, Mantle isn't exactly a Stand, but the basic concept is still there: The manifestation of one's soul, which in RWBY universe is Aura and Semblance, so Mantle is also an extension of the canon concept, one that augments the characters' Semblances while also giving something new to the table, so to speak.

Instead of having them manifesting humanoid/creature-like figures to prevent it from being too blatant of a crossover, I decided to go with either clothing (Jaune's cape/Weiss' diadem/Nora's mini-wings apparel) or inanimate objects (Blake's shadow/Yang's fire jet/Glynda's Third Eye construct etc.) and have them be more like ability-based Stands, Stands that give its user some sort of ability without the punch ghost part, which _are_ present from Part 3 onward, but are more common in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 7: Steel Ball Run.

As to _how_ Mantle itself came to be, the linchpin here is Jaune's very nature. In this fic, his nature is changed due to some tragedy that happened in his childhood, which many of you have noted to be similar to Shirou Emiya's own origin story from Fate/Stay Night. Just like how the Fuyuki Fire distorted the boy that would later become Shirou Emiya, what happened in the town of Winsnow also changed Jaune's nature.

How _did_ it change Jaune's nature, exactly? Well, that would be a spoiler, so I won't reveal that just yet.

Fun fact: The name of the town where Jaune experienced the tragedy is Winsnow, which I took from [Fuyuki] by separating the word into two components: Fu, which is commonly used to refer to wind in general in Japanese and Yuki, which is commonly used to refer to snow in Japanese, so Win(d)Snow.

And speaking of Jaune, now I want to talk a bit about him and his Mantle, everyone else's Mantles and also their names.

And before you ask, no, none of them are named after singers, bands, songs or music albums. Why? Because, as much as I really like Jojo's naming convention for the Stands after Part 3, I don't have a wide and diverse musical knowledge. Sorry...

But if you want to give them nicknames in such a way, that's fine, for example, Nora's Mantle: [ **High Voltage** ]. That's the only good one I had, and naming just one of them like that doesn't sit well with me, so I abandoned it altogether.

 **Jaune Arc** **– Mantle form: White Cape (Name: Hero Icon)**

" _Hmm... I'm not really good with naming... but since a cape has a heroic connotation to it, I guess... Hero Icon?"  
_

This one is very much on the nose, the Mantle is inspired by One-Punch Man's Saitama's costume, and it is supposed to convey the imagery of other powerful caped heroes such as the aforementioned Saitama and the original caped superhero, Superman.

The Jaune Arc in this fic can be likened to both Saitama and Archer in his personality, a mix between the two in fact, as this Jaune shared Archer's zeal for chasing a particular goal yet also Saitama's nonchalant, slightly relaxed attitude, which made him far more mellow and more well-adjusted than Archer or Emiya Shirou but more focused and less apathetic compared to Saitama.

The main costume that he had, which I described on the Chapter 9 of this story is based on Josuke Higashikata's costume, the protagonist of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4, not the protagonist of Part 8 (Both of them has the same name written in different Kanji, which can be confusing if you're not up-to-date with the series), so if you want some reference, you can look at what Josuke wears in the anime and change it a bit to how I described what Jaune is wearing.

 **Penny Polendina – Mantle form: Viridian strings** **made up of numbers** **.** **(Name: Root Matrix)**

" _My Mantle's name is Root Matrix!"_

Her Mantle is basically the line of codes akin to what you see in the movie **[The Matrix]** , shaped into literal strings. The way she can turn herself and anything into strings are based from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 6's protagonist's Stand's power, Stone Free which is thematically fitting due to the inspiration for the character Penny herself: Pinocchio, a living puppet, no longer controlled by strings.

Being a gynoid that can harness Aura, it annoys me that she's very under-utilized in all of her very few appearances in canon. Not to mention the fact that her existence opens up a can of worms about Atlas and their military experiments. Is she the only brainchild of Atlas' military scientists or are there anything else that they dabble in? If there are a couple more of those experiments, how inhumane are they?

Penny's Mantle allows her to examine and manipulate the properties of everything that she accessed with her strings or something that she unravel to be strings, which made it a manifestation of her natural curiosity.

Her main body has yet to be seen, but that's because she has a lot of them, like Tony Stark has a lot of suit of Iron Man armor to use. Considering her power and nature, her Mantle allowed her to expand her knowledge and improve her gynoid abilities to the point that she's self-sustaining and developed her character a bit.

 **Glynda Goodwitch – Mantle form: Purple Third Eye** **Construct. (Name: Regent Influence)**

" _Considering its color and power, I think Regent Influence would be an appropriate name."_

Her Mantle is based of the idea of a third eye being the symbol of psychic power like clairvoyance and telepathy, and considering her telekinetic Semblance, my thought basically went: 'That's the way her Mantle should manifest itself.'

I have this idea about telekinesis or telepathy that the two powers are basically similar, in that it is the power to enable the mind to interact with things outside of it without the need for the physical matter of things as the middle-man, to be able to reach out and affect the physical world without requiring physical touches, so her Mantle expands on this concept and her Semblance, increasing her range of influence and lifting power while also expanding her capability, allowing her to use telepathy.

But telekinesis and telepathy are not the limit to her power, which will come up in future chapters.

 **Neopolitan – Mantle form:** **Mirror** **-like amorphous** **Mercury** **.** **(Name: Mercury Lights)**

 _Neo simply summoned her Mantle above her head in a long rectangular shape with glowing letters on it that slid from right to left which said: 'MERCURY LIGHTS'._

I have a theory that Neo's Semblance is light-based, considering that its appearance is akin to that of a mirage, and it wasn't a mind trick like Emerald's, which is why her Mantle comes in the form of mirrors that can cast and store light as well.

The basis of the Mantle's appearance is how her Semblance appeared; a mirror, and as for her power, when it becomes Mantle, her Semblance turned into the power to generate and manipulate light any way she wished. In addition to that, she is also able to enter her Mantle, scattershot it and then reappear from the pieces that were shot. This particular ability is done by covering herself with her Mantle, allowing her to _become_ her Mantle, moving with every piece that she shot, which is where her mobility is enhanced.

 **Ruby Rose – Mantle form: Silver lightning discharge from red rose petals.** **(Name: Lightning Roses)**

" _I'm gonna name my Mantle... Lightning Roses!"_

" _Isn't that a bit too on the nose?"_

" _Well, Rube's never one for subtlety. I think it sounds cool and on the point though, so why not?"_

The inspiration for her Mantle is also a bit on the nose: The Flash, particularly how Speed Force is often depicted: with supernatural lightning. I just changed the color from golden to silver to match Ruby's eye color and how it is produced: From the rose petals produced by her canon Semblance.

What it does for Ruby, other than increasing its power and speed is to also give Ruby necessary secondary powers, such as enhanced balance and navigational abilities so that she'll be able to turn and see where she's going while running. In addition to that, her silver lightning can also coat her Crescent Rose and what it does is that it increases the frequency of its molecular vibration, making its edge deadlier while also keeping it stable.

As for the whole Silver Eyes Power thing, well I'll see what I can do when it's revealed more, but I already have a plan for Ruby's powers. Personally speaking, I think it's a bit of an asspull, foreshadowed only by Ozpin who said in Volume 1 Episode 1 that she has silver eyes and is then immediately used two volumes later to solve the chaos that Cinder made without any other hints other than the aforementioned one.

 **Weiss Schnee – Mantle form: Cyan diadem** **(Name: Frost Authority)**

" _Frost Authority. It references both my family name and what my Mantle does, so it will do."_

For her diadem itself,the inspiration came from... nowhere in particular. It's mostly because Weiss is an equivalent to royalty in Atlas due to her being a daughter of a man who had a very powerful and influential company, and a diadem is a symbol of power, so I chose that to represent Weiss' power, which is inspired by a concept in Fate/ series known as Reality Marble combined with how Schnee's hereditary semblance is Glyphs and Summoning.

In Fate/ series, Reality Marble is an ability in which someone can impose their will on reality, but this kind of ability can only be done by someone whose worldview is warped enough, or as it is said in Fate/Stay Night, 'distorted'. When her Semblance became Mantle, her Glyphs is able to emulate any kind of effect she wished and inflict it on others by warping reality to answer her will, but it is region-locked to the glyph itself

In essence, she's a reality warper for a locally assigned space, which is why the name for the Mantle has the word 'Authority'. As for her Summoning, when it becomes Mantle, it is also enhanced, but I can't really talk about it without spoiling anything, so let's continue...

 **Blake Belladonna – Mantle form: Animated Black Shadow** **(Name: Degrees of Darkness)**

" _Degrees of Darkness fits I guess."_

" _..."_

" _What?"_

" _Is it a reference to that book you-"_

" _No."_

" _I mean, I'm pretty sure that-"_

" _ **No."**_

I decided to focus more on Blake's whole 'shadow' theme and decided to amplify her Semblance by focusing more on its 'shadow' aspect and making it a literal shadow, a material one that she can animate at will, turn into anything she wants and one that has a hammerspace that she can use to house herself in.

Not only that, her Mantle allows her to use other people's shadow as well, as evidenced by how she used Ruby's to latch on to her. The extent of her ability is that so long as there is a shadow, her own or other's she'll be able to turn it into a part of her Mantle so that she can weaponize it..

 **Yang Xiao Long – Mantle form: A pair of golden fire jet.** **(Name: Goldjet)**

" _Well, since it's color is gold and jet-like, Goldjet will be its name."_

The imagery for her Mantle is based on a certain flaming bird that has been depicted many times in stories: The Phoenix, a golden one in this case. I know that dragon is more often used to refer to Yang, but her golden hair that glows whenever she used her Semblance reminds me more of a phoenix than a dragon, so that's why her Mantle is based on the mythological bird.

Her golden fire is destructive, just like any fire, but like the bird that I decided to use as a base for her Mantle, there are more to this than meets the eye, it's not just a fire of a different color than its usual one.

 **June Arc – Blue M-shaped head** **-** **plate** **(Name: Sacred Blue)**

" _I think I'll name my Mantle... Sacred Blue."_

 _There was a long silence that followed as June simply smiled, almost too innocently, and then, Yang slowly raised her left hand up, and June reciprocated it with a high five while the others, save for Nora who was grinning from ear to ear, shook their heads in disbelief._

I have to talk about June's Semblance first before getting to her Mantle. Her Semblance is based on Fantastic Four's Invisible Woman's force-field, flexible yet also durable. I chose to give her this Mantle so that she can match Pyrrha's polarity Semblance in terms of 'Absolutely broken Semblance' and one that completely counters Pyrrha's, because should they ever fight seriously, June can just discard her armor and Crocea Mors and use her highly-malleable yet durable force-field to defend herself and attack Pyrrha who'd be unable to do anything to disarm June or protect herself from June's attacks due to its nature.

Speaking of 'Broken Semblances', these types of Semblances, in my story, are referred to as 'Killer Semblance'.

 **Interlude: Killer Semblance**

I derived the name Killer Semblance from the term 'Killer App', which is a marketing term which is used to refer to any computer program that is either necessary or desirable that it becomes a core value of the larger technology to which it belongs to. For example: The first _Halo_ for the first Xbox console or _Pokemon Red and Blue_ for the Game Boy.

With that in mind, as not all Semblances are equal to each other, Killer Semblance means that it's a Semblance that stands above all the rest in terms of either utility, versatility, destructive power or all of them at once. June's Force Field and Pyrrha's Polarity would be considered this due to how they can be applied not just in battle, but in everyday life and how powerful it can be once its user really gets serious with them.

 **Interlude Ends**

June's Mantle and her physical appearance is based from a character in Fate/ series and what she wore. She first appeared in Fate/Apocrypha light novel and then she's summonable in the mobile game Fate/Grand Order, Jeanne D'Arc/Ruler. June's headpiece is basically the same as Ruler's, except much less decorative or ornate.

For her costume, it's based on canon-Jaune's, except that she's more laid back and has more blue in her color scheme than canon-Jaune such as her blue top. Just imagine a much taller Ruler with shorter hair styled into a ponytail and you'll get the idea of her basic appearance.

 **Nora Valkyrie – A pair of pink wings above her ears.** **(Name: Wingspark)**

" _Well, since it's made of wings and allows me to emit and_ control _lightning, I'll name it Wingspark!"_

The appearance of her mini-wings above her ears is inspired by how Thor from Marvel Comics has wings on his helmet above his ears, and considering that the mythological God of Thunder Thor is the basis of Nora's character as evidenced by her personality, weapon of choice and her Semblance, I think it's appropriate to have a piece of his costume as her Mantle.

In the show, her Semblance allows her to just absorb electricity to multiply her baseline strength, so when it is changed into Mantle, she became capable of harnessing electricity and lightning like Thor when he's wielding Mjolnir. Now she is, as she said in Chapter 13, a 'Lightning Queen'.

The power she now has through her Mantle is inspired by both Thor and Cole MacGrath's from the videogame series _InFamous._ She is now more than just electricity absorber/conduit, she's a full-blown electrokinesis user capable of calling lightning storm from a clear blue sky and more.

 **Pyrrha Nikos – Crimson halo floating behind her.** **(Name: Magnetia)**

" _Magnetia. It's an archaic word, but I think it fits."_

The halo is based from Asura's Wrath where the main character and the bossess all have halos that are on their backs instead of on their heads due to them being based on the deities of Hindu mythology. It also shows both her ego and demeanor, in that she is quite competitive yet also kind and compassionate.

And speaking of her competitiveness: What kind of a competitor is she, that she would hide the fact that her Semblance is powerful enough to render any weapon-wielding enemy helpless? The kind that likes to win no matter what, no matter how it's done.

I have a theory that she's a four-time Mistral Champion not just because of her stellar combat skills. After all, it's not like she ever showed some reluctance in using her Semblance when she had or wanted to, so my thought is that despite her own bitterness at her status as a worshiped celebrity, she hated the idea of intentionally losing a fight even more. If this side of Pyrrha does exist in canon, then it's too bad that it's never explored before she's killed off.

As for how the Mantle extend or amplify Pyrrha's Polarity Semblance, now she possess magnekinesis almost at the level of Magneto, who can control the magnetic field of a planet to fly and protect herself by coating herself with an amplified personal magnetic field that can repel any attack before it even touched her skin which also augment her weapon and shield.

Yes, she's now a She-Magneto. Or is that Magneta now?

 **Ren Lie – A collection of floating magenta-colored spheres that surrounded his neck as if it were a necklace.** **(Name: Symphony of Chaos and Harmony)**

" _Symphony of Chaos and Harmony. It's a bit long, but it's the only appropriate thing that comes up."_

" _Why Symphony?"_

" _...Because it rhymes with harmony..."_

This Mantle is made before the flashback that showed what Ren's Semblance actually does, and even _then_ it's not properly explained, so I'm doing my own thing due to this story being an AU and all.

Its appearance and the way it works is based on Zenyatta's 'balls' from Overwatch as it can inflict 'Chaos' or 'Harmony' to those that Ren choose to affect. 'Chaos' basically disintegrate the target, making them more fragile or even outright consumes the target, and 'Harmony' is the reverse; restoration, or in other words regeneration, which can make someone stronger in addition to inducing high regeneration rate for them to get healed up fast. His Mantle also works on inanimate objects, as it is a concept-based power.

Ren is basically a support-type character with this ability, but by combining the spheres or turning the spheres into beams of energy, the effect of either 'Chaos' or 'Harmony' is amplified several folds, allowing someone or something to disintegrate in seconds or for a wounded person or a destroyed object to be restored in an instant.

 **Amber – Orange-colored tribalistic tattoo/lines (Name: Elementalism)**

" _Elementalism. Mantle isn't a philosophy or an ideology, but then again, there are no specific rules to this naming thing, right?"_

Considering that Amber was made to simply be a plot device, expanding her character beyond her being a vessel for the Fall Maiden power is something that I want to do through this fic.

So to do that, I made it so that she ended up relinquishing her Maiden powers in exchange for her Mantle. I am of the idea that Amber was not really okay with her status as a Fall Maiden but she continued as one because she felt it was her responsibility to bear the burden.

The full extent of Maiden powers and whether or not a Maiden power differs depending on the season they represent are still very unclear since the only confirmed Maiden that we've seen before Cinder got her powers was Amber, so I'm assuming that being a Maiden doesn't allow her to actually control nature, but to emulate natural phenomenon.

Her Mantle on the other hand, allowed her to control nature in a way that is inspired by both Storm from X-Men and the element-benders from Avatar: The Last Airbender. It allows her to actually manipulate nature, thus making her Maiden-like.

Even without being a Maiden, she still couldn't escape her fate of having Maiden-like powers... You know, I was kind of hoping they'd expand on the 'Maiden' concept more in the show instead of having some _other_ Macguffins for the characters to chase...

Now for the last part of this chapter...

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 **About some of the 'OC' characters**

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Dea/Giorna Starr, Miss N/Lucy, Brie and some others. These OC characters are basically a reversed gender equivalent of some characters from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure if it weren't so obvious. The only thing that can make it even more obvious is if they were drawn as I described them.

First, let's start with Dea/Giorna Starr

 **Dea/Giorna Starr**

This character is based on two characters from Jojo, first is the overarching antagonist of the series; Dio Brando/DIO and the second one is the protagonist of Part 5, Vento Aureo; Giorno Giovanna, who also happened to be DIO's son. Her demeanor is more in line with DIO yet it's a bit softened by combining it with Giorno's while her occupation as a mob boss is completely from Giorno.

The way she is dressed is a combination of how DIO looked like from Part 3 (Orange formal wear with black bodysuit) and Giorno (huge heart-shaped cleavage/emblem on the center of her chest) and both her 'boss' name and her real name are derived from Dio and Giorno, which is turned into Dea (which means Goddess in Italian) and Giorna from Giorno to make it sound more feminine. As to the claw she let out of her nail-less fingers in Chapter 8, I have five words for you... Diego Brando and Scary Monsters.

The claw is not part of her Semblance, as her Semblance is based on Yoshikage Kira's, -the main villain from Part 4-, power, which is to make things explode through contact, so what do I mean by Scary Monsters? Well, to those who aren't Jojo fans, please read Steel Ball Run or find info about Diego Brando or Scary Monsters and you'll get where I'm going with her.

 **Miss N(ox)/Lucy**

Her power is based on Vampires/Pillar Men from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 1 and 2 along with a little bit of Alex Mercer from the videogame Prototype. Her appearance however, is largely based on Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 5's villain Diavolo and to a lesser extent, his 'alter-ego' Doppio (being a younger counterpart of herself and all, along with the scanty clothes Nox/Lucy wear).

However, her personality isn't fully like Diavolo. She's arrogant to a fault, somewhat effective at her job, likes to hide her identity and ruthless, all of which I took from Diavolo, yet unlike him, she likes a good competition, which was why she killed Roman Torchwick because as she saw it, he didn't contribute to the competition due to him being a passive mob boss who, -in canon itself states that he does his best to survive-, does not compete the way she wanted him to.

Her role in the story will be quite big as it goes on, so this is where I will stop for now.

 **Brie**

Dea/Giorna's right-hand woman. To those of you who have read Vento Aureo, this character is based off of Bruno Bucellati (bob haircut, white-colored ensemble), Giorno's closest companion, google him and you'd have a good idea of what Brie looks like.

 **Josephine Starr**

Giorno's sister whose name is based on Joseph Joestar, the protagonist of Jojo Part 2, which makes her a Jojo, right? Well, in the next chapter, you'll see that the inspirations that makes the character Josephine Starr is more than just Joseph, so please wait for it.

Fun fact: When the first syllable of both Josephine and Giorna's first name is combined with their family name, it spells out **Jo(e)star.**

 **Jo** sephine **Starr**

 **Gio** rna **Starr**

It's all deliberately done because to give them the name Joestar would've made the crossover too obvious and no longer 'pseudo'.

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 **End of Extra I**

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 **This marks the end of this extra chapter. I hope you're satisfied with the commentaries and some of the new information, such as the name of the Mantles. I know it's not really a new chapter that continues the story, I am still working on that, to try and get ahead for at least ten chapters before I upload the new one, but I felt that a chapter like this is needed so that this story and its influences can be explained.**

 **Again, thank you for reading, and if there are some elements of the story you want to be explained in more details, please review or PM me about it so that I can get some input on what the next 'Appendix' chapter will delve into.**


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